The New Pack
by MonroesFigure
Summary: Leah and Sam's relationship is rocky. Edward and Bella have a spark of romance starting. And Sam never imprinted on Emily. Sam just wanted Leah. But fate has other plans.
1. Prologue

**AN: Another idea from my head for a story. I don't own twilight, obviously.**

School was in and Sam Uley was waiting outside on a bench with some friends for his fianèe Leah Clearwater to come out. The Tribal High School shared a campus with Forks High School, but the student bodies didn't mix. Rez kids stayed to their side of the campus and the white kids stuck to their side. But given Sam's size these days, the white kids were noticing his conspicuous presence. Sixteen year old Jared Cameron sat at his side; a quivering bundle of energy even after two weeks away from the general population to cool off.

In September, Sam had phased for the first time at eighteen years old. He had been out of his mind with fear and panic. It had taken a long time for Harry Clearwater and Billy Black and Quil Ateara Sr to calm him down and get him back into his human form. He had never been very trusting of authorities. His mother, Allison Uley didn't like the tribe's elders. She wasn't a bad person, but her track record wasn't without its fair share of blemishes. And neither was Sam's. He was mostly a good kid growing up. Occasionally joining in on a night of underage drinking at a house party. He'd gone through his smoking phase with Leah. And facing his fiancèe's father, the man whose daughter he was sleeping with hadn't been an easy prospect. Sam and Harry had never been close. But now they shared a secret that Leah didn't know.

Leah had forced a search, posted missing posters everywhere when Sam had gone missing. She hadn't reacted well when he returned. As far as she could see, there was nothing wrong with him. He'd grown bigger, more muscular, gotten a tattoo and a short hair cut. He was more tense and kept up his guard at all times. He wasn't the boy she had fallen in love with. But she was willing to work through it with him.

Things were still tense between them. She wouldn't share her bed with him as long as she sensed he had his guard up. As long as she sensed that he was keeping secrets from her. She was a smart girl. She knew when she was being lied to. With everything that was left unsaid, they still loved each other. It was hard to leave her at school knowing the Cullens were attending the school just across campus from her. It was a shame that when the treaty was made the schools hadn't been built yet. Why couldn't the Tribal school have been built in La Push? Because most of the rez didn't actually believe the old stories.

As though on cue, Jared had phased only weeks ago. Old Quil had said there were more coming. Paul Lahote looked close to phasing and Embry Call had been growing at a decidedly different rate from his friends. They knew Jacob Black would probably phase, he was next in line to be the Alpha. They had thought he would be second to phase after Sam had phased. But he was still as sunny as ever. Happy little punk didn't even look close to be phasing. Somehow, with Jared phasing, Sam found himself thrust into the role of Alpha. Leading and teaching. He just wanted to fuck off to college. Was that so much to ask? He wasn't interested in babysitting Jared or watching for a bunch of teenage boys phase. He was a young man ready for the next stage in his life. He didn't need this shit.

The Tribal school was let out first and Sam watched quietly for Leah with a small smile on his face. She was the only thing making phasing bearable. She had chosen to stick by him through all of this. She was amazing and strong and smart and beautiful. How man girls would stick by a boy after everything that had happened?

She came down the steps and a guarded smile reached him. He hated that. He hated that he had changed her like this. She used to run, flinging herself into his arms. Now, there was this wall between them and he was trying to figure out a way to do his duty to his tribe and keep their secrets. But he also had to find a way to get through to her.

He moved to stand up from the bench when she motioned for him to sit down with a smirk. She straddled him on the bench on the rare day it wasn't raining even though the sun wasn't out. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer while the rest of the school emptied out into the parking lot.

The sickly sweet smell grew fantastically yanking his attention from Leah. Sam could feel Jared trembling beside him and placed a hand on him to steady the pup. Sam almost grimaced, he had only a few months more experience than Jared, hardly an expert. He grimaced thinking that he needed an Alpha, he was a pup. Who would steady him? So far, Leah was steadying him even if she didn't know it.

The white school was finishing their day and emptying out.

Sam recognized the Cullens across the campus in the other parking lot. He tensed seeing the copper haired blood sucker staring intensely at a pale brunette. He let loose a low growl. The leech shouldn't be staring at an humans. The vampire turned his dark hungry eyes on Sam. Not yet all black, at a hint of amber touched the edges. But it was clearly feeding time. All the more reason that he shouldn't be staring at the human.

They were locked in silent battle, staring each other down. Before Cullen finally moved to get into his silver Volvo. The rest of coven kept their eyes on Sam making his skin crawl like watching beetles scurrying under rocks.

"What was that?" Asked Leah now standing at his side. He hadn't even noticed when the three of them had stood up. "You gained a side kick and now you're as superstitious as the old fools down on the rez?" She referred to Jared and Elders. His jaw stiffened realizing how this looked.

"It was nothing." He replied stiffly pulling his keys out of his pocket and making his way to his beaten up old blue truck. His jaw worked and Leah recognized the mask tighten into place. She sighed.

"Sure didn't look like nothing." She muttered sullenly. She was tired of this dark place that Sam had gone to. She wanted to help him, if he would just let him. She glanced over at the brunette that the Cullen kid had been looking at. She was unremarkable but somehow, she had set off a glaring contest. But Sam hadn't spared the girl a passing look. It wasn't about the girl exactly, so what was it about? The puzzle grew and grew and none of the pieces would ever fit. Leah felt frustrated and angry and growing burn in her stomach as she felt her relationship with Sam slowly disintegrating day by day. It hurt. She could see where this was going. And yet he seemed to think he could keep these secrets from her while maintaining a trusting and committed relationship.

Leah had fought and fought. No matter how much she loved Sam, he wasn't budging. When they first dated, she had been warned that he would be like his father. He would abandon her on the rez with a baby. He was nothing like his father. But somehow, for all of his steadfast love and loyalty, it didn't look like it would be enough to pull them through.

She was stubborn. She wouldn't give up just yet. Not until she was absolutely sure that she had done everything she could. She had planned on going to college with him. Getting married with him. And having children together some day. She wasn't ready to let go of that dream and would keep fighting with everything she had.

The drive back to the rez with Jared sitting in the bed of the truck passed silently. They were both deep in thought while the reflection of the dark woods passed over the glass windshield of the truck. Sam wanted to say something reassuring and healing. Leah wanted to beat him over the head with a rolling pin until he started making sense.

The Lahote driveway was filling up with cars fast and the sound of a bass boomed out onto the country road. Sam slowed down and pulled over.

"What are you doing?" Leah glared at him.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." He ordered her before jumping out of the truck.

"Stay here?" Leah mimicked him. He almost laughed for a second at her angry reaction. But there was nothing funny about what he was dealing with and it trampled on his sense of humour.

Paul Lahote was throwing a party at his house and last Harry had told him, the boy was going to phase any day now. Paul phasing in an overcrowded living room was highly probable and would be a disaster.

Sam would be happy to turn a blind eye to a party while the parents were out of town. But not now. Not when Paul was about to phase.

"Please?" Sam implored.

They locked eyes for a moment before she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. A smile twitched to escape, but he only nodded at her. She felt the truck move as Jared jumped out of the back of the truck.

The image in Leah's mind of beating Sam over the head with a rolling pin until he made sense turned into a crowbar. It suddenly struck her how ridiculous this was. Sam was throwing underage drinking parties just last school year in his mothers basement. They only had vodka and kool aid. The vodka had been pretty good, but mixing it with kool aid had been a disgusting experiment. She never had liked kool aid. Sugar water.

So with that memory brought to the surface, who was Sam to break up a party? What authority did he have here? None. What was wrong if they had a little fun? None in her mind. What was she waiting here for?

She had no intention of waiting here for him to break up a relatively innocent party. She climbed over to the drivers seat and turned over the engine.

Leah's hand was on the gear stick when Paul was dragged out of the side door of his house.

"You fucking prick, Sam! What the hell crawled up your ass and died? Huh? Get your fucking hands off me!" Paul was roaring like an animal. Leah smirked watching an angry Paul being easily handled by her man. Although, Paul was nearly as big as Sam. It should have been more evenly matched. There was something unnatural still about the Sam and Jared moved.

Witnesses had moved out of the house, elbowing each other and laughing.

Paul fell to the ground and started shaking like he was having an epileptic fit. Leah had never seen someone so angry in her life. Sam and Jared took one look at each other and snatched Paul off the ground and ducked into the woods behind Paul's house.

Leah sat in the truck confused and unsure of whether to make her point and ditch Sam at Paul's house or to go investigate what the hell they were up to. She realized that she was tired and frustrated with Sam's bullshit. She had been spending so many months trying to figure it all out. At this point, she didn't care what Sam's big secret was. She didn't care that she kept getting more pieces of the puzzle that would never fit. Leah just didn't care anymore. And with that, she drove home with Sam's truck. He was a big boy. He could find his own way home.

Sam recognized the sound of his truck pulling away over all of the other noises. His heart sank, but he couldn't say that he was surprised. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He'd have to talk to her later and see if he could fix things up again.

Deep in the woods, he spent the night dealing with a newly phased Paul. Sixteen year old Paul was out of control. He would try so hard not to phase, the tremble and shaking would become him bouncing off the ground like a rubber ball thundering on the ground until he finally burst out of his skin again. It was as frustrating for Jared and Sam to watch as it was for Paul to try to contain.

Sam lamented that he was born before Jacob. If Jacob was just a few years older, it wouldn't be Sam's problem.

Paul wasn't any better by morning and there wasn't any way possible to visit Leah. Trying to keep Paul from exacting vengance on the Cullen's, in turn breaking the treaty, for fucking up his life, required constant babysitting. Sam had thought it had been rough training Jared but Paul was something else entirely. Sam had given up dressing Paul to try to save clothes until Paul resembled something close to being self-contained.

A week later, Sam hadn't made any progress with Leah. She wasn't returning his calls and wouldn't see him. He followed Harry's advice and backed off to give her time to cool off.

It was a sunny Saturday and Old Quil had asked Sam to take a look down on First Beach where some kids from Forks were having a party on the beach. He didn't want any drugs or drinking going on down there. Sam wasn't sure when he went from being a Protector against blood sucking evil vampires to security guard for the Quileute people. He had sighed heavily to let Old Quil know that he was being put upon but dutifully did as he was asked.

The air was brisk when he arrived at First Beach and he stepped in amongst a group of teenagers. The boys eager to meet some of the girls they saw across campus but never had a reason to talk to. He recognized Jacob Black and Quil Ateara amongst those present. The last pack only had three, so it was unlikely that these two would phase. It had probably missed them. Lucky little bastards. If they had been a little older, they had higher probability of phasing than Paul or Jared. Like himself, they were direct descendants from the last pack.

"Did you invite the Cullen's Bella?" A blond girl asked the brunette that I recognized from behind as the same brunette that that bloodsucker had been staring at. Why would she invite them? Had she made friends with them? Since when did the Cullen's befriend humans?

"The Cullen's don't come here." Sam informed them.

They hadn't noticed him walk up and looked up surprised. Sam was about to walk away, having confirmed that he didn't see any drugs or alcohol amongst the group when big brown doe eyes caught his.

**So, what do you think? Keep going? I have a few a stories I've been thinking about. I know Sam and Bella has been done. But I haven't seen them really deal with the issue of Leah and Edward before. So I thought I'd give it a go.**


	2. My Puppy Jake

**AN: If you don't realize I'm not SM and that I don't own Twilight, you are a lost and embarrassing cause. Hang your head in shame. You're useless.**

**It was good to see so many story and favourite alerts. Thank you for that. Shame that didn't translate into many reviews. Thank you to Kathy Hiester, Aggy73 and Justlookingforupdates for your reviews. Writing this chapter, Jacob reminded me of a little puppy and I wanted to put him on a leash and take him home with me. Alas, I'm not a pet gal so I scared him off. Enjoy!**

Looking into these beautiful doe eyes, he struggled to keep his feet on the ground as the earth began shift underneath him. He'd felt an earthquake before but this felt like a magnitude eight. Except, he was the only one experiencing. Everyone else had continued talking after a short awkward silence.

Jessica watched smugly as Sam and Bella appeared to be hitting it off. She was disappointed that Bella had attracted yet another male. But maybe Sam would be frightening enough to keep Mike's eyes off the girl and back on Jessica.

Sam became aware that he could 'feel' Bella. Or it seemed that way to him. He could feel her as though she were another sensory connection to his brain. These lines attached him to her. It was hard to understand. It wasn't love exactly so much as... she was all he could really see. Everything else faded away.

Someone had mentioned that she should have invited the Cullen's. The girl was associated with bloodsuckers? The idea of her associating with such a threat brought a lump into his throat.

His heart clenched as his mind thrust thoughts back to Leah at him. He had loved her. Had? Well, had was quite the development. No, somewhere inside of him, he still loved her. Right? Of course, she wasn't currently talking to him. But it wasn't over. What was wrong with him? It was just as life changing as the first time he had phased into a giant wolf. And again, he didn't have any idea what was happening.

He was still struggling to grasp the enormity of this complex shift in his world view when Bella seemed to become self aware again. She blushed at having stared at the stranger for so long.

"Sam Uley." He offered his hand quickly, hopeful that she would let him touch her. He would need her name. He could sympathize a little more with Prince Charming losing a nameless beauty and being left with only her shoe.

She watched the serious man watching her intensely. His intense stare captured her the way that Edward Cullen stare held her. But Edward's stare was predatory. Hungry. Sam's stare was unguarded. Intimate. She didn't want to make assumptions as a virgin, but she imagined that might be the gaze of lover. She blushed harder still as her body hummed in anticipation. Her mind buzzed and she felt a flush of excitement.

She cautiously took his hand. "Bella Swan." Her reservations self-evident.

"Chief Swan's daughter?" He smiled inwardly. He knew the Chief and they had gotten along well in the past. He wouldn't have to work to hard to figure out where she lived if that was the case.

"Yeah, Charlie's daughter." She gave him a warm smile that caused his heart to fill up like balloon with hot water. Sam felt he'd already lost, realizing he wanted it all. He wanted all of her. Mind, body and soul. And he would give all of himself to her. It was her smile, her touch. Their hands were connected in a gentle handshake and he felt a tremor like an electric shock in slow motion radiate through his hand, up his arm and into his chest. Her eyes widened as she took in the heat and felt a sense of comfort wrap around her instantly. She dropped his hand looking from an outsider view as though he had hurt her.

Jacob Black had been relaxed until Bella looked as though Sam had hurt her. He'd only reacquainted himself with her minutes earlier, but felt he should do or say something. An intimidated fifteen year old Jacob bravely stepped in.

"So, is Forks driving you insane yet?"

"Oh, I'd say that was an understatement." She grimaced and Jake grinned understandingly.

Bella turned over Sam's words from before. The Cullen's don't come here. As though they weren't allowed. She felt a sudden inspiration to flirt the information out of Jacob when Sam stepped into her line of view. He subtly rested a hand at the small of her back and pointed down the beach away from the others. "Would you walk down the beach with me Bella?"

Sam could read her misgivings plainly on her face. She didn't have a poker face at all. Sam was clearly more experienced than Jacob and would read through any of her attempts at flirting. But he did seem interested in her. Might he expand on what he said earlier? She had taken too long to decide and the more polite thing to do was to accept his request. Bella smiled weakly at him allowing him to lead her away.

Sam caught sight of Jacob Black glaring at him pointedly behind her back. Jake was more than aware that Sam was still currently engaged to Jake's second cousin, Leah Clearwater. Sam held his glare as though to tell him to mind his own business. He felt bad for the boy seeing his pained expression.

How would she steer the conversation to the Cullen's? She bit on her lower lip thinking carefully. Coming up short, she decided to say something before he had a chance to start conversation.

"So you know Dr Carlisle Cullen?" She looked up at him through her lashes hoping she wasn't too obvious. His entire body stiffened. "Are you friends?"

"I'm familiar with him." He answered tightly. "You are familiar with them?"

"I'm... familiar," choosing his same word to describe how well she knew Edward. "With their son, Edward Cullen. We have biology together. How do you know them?" Bella probed but she was met silence. She chanced a look at Sam's face. How could he answer her? Everything in him was telling him to tell her everything. He could picture a word vomit as he warned her away from the Cullen's. But telling her would break the treaty. And his break his word to elders that he wouldn't expose his own. He couldn't say anything.

"There have been some discussions between our Council and the... hospital." His body was taut. "How well do you now Edward?"

"Not too well. He was nice enough to drive me home after blood typing on Thursday in biology."

Sam saw her blush at the memory and felt his stomach drop to the ground. He carefully watched his behaviour reminding himself that he had no rights over her. "Why did he need to drive you home after blood typing?" She was quiet as her blush grew more pronounced. He waited patiently for an answer that he desperately needed.

"I get nauseous and... alittlefaint when I smell blood. He was kind enough to get me to the school nurse and take me home."

When Sam started shaking, Bella stared in wonder. He tried to contain himself as best he could. She looked around the beach for help, for someone to call to her aid. Was he having an epileptic fit or was he about to beat her into a bloody pulp in a fit of rage? He took loud breaths before managing to calm down.

"Sorry..." he finally spoke. Then whispered so quietly she wasn't sure she heard him correctly. "He's pushing too far..."

"You know something about them. What is it?"

"Could you stay away from them?"

"He kept telling me that!" She was incredulous that he was telling her same thing.

"Telling you what?"

"To stay away from him."

"Did you listen?"

"It's complicated."

Sam turned on her darkly and began walking towards her. The idea of her having her finger bleeding while passed out in Cullen's car made him feel like his testicles hand been handed over to a rottweiler. "Uncomplicate it. Stay away from Cullen." He ordered her forcefully.

She felt the confusing combination of being challenged and sexual arousal. "Not without a good reason." Bella looked him in the eye daring him to tell her. "I'll cancel my trip to Seattle with him, if you tell me why I shouldn't be friends with Edward."

"Seattle!" Sam roared, as his body shook violently. A man who could almost be Sam's double, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, pulled her away as Sam exploded out of his skin into a giant black wolf.

Bella's ears were ringing loudly, as though a bomb had gone off too close to her. Right now, she would have appreciated fainting, but it wasn't to be. She was aware as she was pulled into the arms of a young man who had the same colouring, build and large size as Sam. She was embarrassed to be seen in a weak moment and moved to be put down. But he ignored her through her groans of nausea. She didn't take in much of what was happening until they reached their destination.

An old worn down house stood on a street and Bella found herself carried inside. She was sat on a couch, faced with an old Quileute man and a nervous Sam.

"Hello Bella. I'm Quil Ateara." The old man introduced himself. "Jared tells me that Sam had an accident. We're just going to see if we can't solve this quickly and get you back to your group. What do you say?" He assured me with a gentle smile.

I nodded slowly.

"Can you tell me what happened Sam? What happened when you ran into this girl that could set you off?"

Sam looked uncomfortable. "I... I'm sorry... I just..." He ran his hand over his face before a stoic face of calm masked his expressions. "I saw her eyes and gravity... moved. And I needed to talk to her. And she was talking about going on a trip to Seattle with Edward Cullen and..." He started shaking again.

The old man chuckled. "Calm yourself son, I can tell you what happened. I just don't know that Bella will be returning to her group in the next fifteen minutes. Jared, could you get Billy and Harry down here. Let's hope Paul can control himself for a little while hmm?" He laughed.

Sam felt more frustrated by the minute but froze his reactions. He couldn't lose her. He had to have her. He wanted all of her. What was wrong with him?

"Sam, I think you've imprinted on her."

Bella and Sam stared blankly at him. All Bella could think of was ducklings imprinting on their mothers. She was quite sure that Sam hadn't been looking at her like a mother.

"I'll make some tea. We're going to be here awhile."

Hours later, the elders had sent word to Bella's friends that she was going to be late and that Chief Black would arrange a ride home for her. Charlie was called. And Bella had been told... everything. She had asked many questions and Sam, Billy, Harry and Old Quil were doing their very best to answer her questions.

This question troubled her the most. Because she didn't know if it would upset Sam and he would explode into a wolf again. She had procrastinated asking the question for last. With a lump in her throat, she dared to ask the biggest question of them all.

"What happens..." her voice trailed off. Harry tried to reassure the girl he had known since she was a baby. He had watched her grow up into the pretty young woman she was today. He never imagined that she would ever be wrapped up in vampires and werewolves. He never imagined that she would displace his own daughters place in her fiancee's heart. He was bracing himself for the heartache that his dear child would be experiencing soon.

"What if... is Sam going to be okay if I reject the imprint?" Harry covered his grief and fear on Sam's behalf behind a thoughtful gaze and his hand in curled at his chin. The three older men shared a look.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know what will happen to him. But looking at the legends, it would be harmful to him. There is a risk that it could harm you also. But that's speculation based on the information available. Imprints are rare. No one imprinted in the last pack." The silence in the room was deafening.

Sam tried his very best to keep his face impassive. But she was thinking about rejecting him. He felt as though he just might die if he couldn't have her in his life. Worse still, he ached to have her. All of her. He'd settle for so much less. But he didn't think he could handle a complete rejection.

"Can take some time to think about this?" Bella asked softly.

"Of course! Don't hesitate to talk to us. Please... keep an open mind." Old Quil piped up.

"I'll drive you home." Sam stood up and Harry handed him his truck keys.

Bella meekly followed under the watchful eyes of the three older men. They had just as many questions as Bella. Unfortunately, they didn't have anyone they could go to to answer their questions.

Sam wasn't able to resist touching Bella. He held her hand to lead her to Harry's truck. He opened the door and lifted her into the raised seat. So when he raised an arm to wrap around her shoulders as he drove, Bella recoiled obviously for him. She hated to see the pained expression on his face but she couldn't let this keep going until she knew what she was going to do.

"Sam, you seem like a nice guy and honestly, you're... hot." She admitted finally with a blush. "I'm just not sure about any of this. I'm going to need a little space for now."

Sam didn't look at her. He stared straight ahead and started the car pulling onto the dark road.

"I'm sorry. You have fiancee and you've lost your freedom and you're stuck with me and I asked about rejecting the imprint-."

"Stop. Don't." He made eye contact with her. "We've got a lot to take in." Minutes passed, each keeping their eyes averted from each other. "Can you just tell me one thing?"

They looked at each other before he asked his question. "Do you want to fight it? I'll do whatever you want. If you want to reject the imprint, I'll do that. If you think you want to fight it, I'll fight it with you. But if you think might want to see how this works, I don't want to cheat on her even sort of. I don't want to string her along. The elders say I can't deny you, and I think they're right." She could hear the lump in his throat.

"I don't know what I want. I'm scared. If we fight it, I don't want to get hurt. Either of us. If we don't fight it, we'll destroy your relationship. And at the bottom of it all, you would never give me a passing glance without the imprint."

"We're supposed to be made for each other."

"That's only a theory. They don't know, they're guessing." She hissed before seeing the pain on his face and feeling guilt gnaw at her. "Look, I need some time to think about this. I want to give you a straight answer. I just don't have one."

The rest of the drive was a somber one. When he pulled up to her house at one in the morning, they didn't say a word and Bella determinedly avoided looking at Sam.

When the door closed behind her he whispered, "Good night Isabella Swan."

**AN: How as it? I'm still planning out whether to have a confrontation in Port Angeles between Sam and Edward, cancel the trip or have an intimate revision of Bella's drive home with Edward. Input would be helpful. But I'll have a stab at all three and see which on takes off for me.**


	3. Hate

**AN: I'm too fabulously poor to own Twilight. I know. You're jealous.**

**Almost forgot! Thank you to my reviewers Aggy73, Interbabe, LilShawty14, Kathy Hiester, Kittyinaz and grabski8. And thanks to everyone else who has added this to their alerts and favourites!  
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**Two potential lovers, well aware of each other. Can we sing _awkward_?**

When Edward arrived outside Bella's house, he spied her sitting in a ball on the bed resting against the headboard. Her covers were pulled over her and she was looking out the window distantly. Recently sated from his trip to Mount Rainer, his eyes were a brilliant amber. He perched in the fur tree edging Charlie's property willing her mind to speak to him. What was that silent mind thinking about?

If he could have heard her thoughts, it would have been about the romantic nightmare she found herself in. It was everything she had dreamed of wrapped up in her worst nightmares. A man: her devoted slave. She knew that she was his burden, his sickness and his downfall. He had said she was his future, his hope and all he wanted. Would she allow herself infect everything in his life? What ransom could she pay for his free will? He only seemed disappointed that he would hurt his fiancé. She suspected that without the imprint, he would have viewed this as a travesty. She should free him by asking for distant friendship. Was she strong enough?

When he looked at her... when he looked at her she felt as though she was guilty of looking directly at the sun. She could feel herself being lulled into his security. She reminded herself that the imprint had raped him of his free will. He didn't actually want her. He wanted Leah Clearwater. She didn't really know her very well. She distantly recalled the girl from many summers ago. The love of Leah's life was being stolen by an invisible force in bits and bites. If she asked him to be a friend, would he be able to go back to Leah? Or would she force him to be alone for the rest of his days without a companion?

Bella's guilt was suffocating. And there was someone who captured her attention just as strongly; someone who didn't cause her guilt.

The mysterious Mr Edward Cullen, who had lost a measure of his mystery. Knowing that he was a vampire committed to not drinking human blood, didn't cause her to fear his cold flame. If anything, she had more questions. Why had he taken a special interest in her? Was he not as committed to his abstinence from human blood as he should be? Was she a potential meal and he playing with his food? Toying with the possibility of sucking her dry?

She remembered how she felt under his hypnotic eyes and the magnetic force of his personality. She thought again, if it was possible if he could read minds. What would he read in her mind? She knew she should stay away. But the idea of staying away from him filled her with the agony of despair. Her mind rejected the pain. She couldn't and wouldn't stay away from Edward. If he was going to harm her, he would have done so already. She should be dead already. A dent in Tyler's van. He had saved her life. Even though he was a... vampire... how bad could he really be? She was in too deep to turn back now.

Eventually, Bella shifted down the bed and curled up on her side off to sleep.

As soon as her breaths slowed to a steady rythm, white hands silently opened her bedroom window and a figure sat in her rocking chair, watching her sleep.

In La Push, Sam had updated his pack before calling Dr Carlisle Cullen for an impromptu meeting. It had been a difficult phone call. Sam could sense Bella's deep guilt and apprehension from the next town. A piece of him followed the constant flow of her emotions. And her pain was his pain. And during this pain, he was listening to Cullen's voice with it's multiple pitches, unheard by human ears. An unnatural chord, like an out of tune piano. It was difficult to the wolf to listen to. But he had to deal with it as the last Alpha, Ephraim Black had had to deal with it.

When the Elders had met with the Cullen's on their return to the Olympic Penninsular, they had done so in Forks General Hospital discreetly in front of witnesses. But Sam couldn't be sure that he and his wolves could remain inconspicuously in their human form while communicating with the undead. And so he requested a clearing in the woods that was referred to as the meeting place in the treaty.

At three in the morning, Sam was flanked by the only two other wolves in his pack. He had already discussed with Old Quil what he should say. But he could feel his nerves jitter. He felt like he was a fire, snapping and crackling under his wolf skin. If he didn't control himself, he could blow up in their faces. He hoped not.

Across the clearing, snow white faces with glowing eyes appeared. They walked the practiced gait of vampires who had spent a lot of time mimicking humans. Where most would have floated, their eyes bounced in the dark. Sam wasn't sure what was more disturbing. The inhuman movement of most vampires or that the Cullen's moved so naturally? Blending in easily. The Cullen's were the walking undead with painted on clown faces to the wolves. Their fraud was unconvincing.

Dr Carlisle Cullen was flanked by a much larger vampire with a cheerful face on the one side and a somber, smaller, scar covered vampire on the other. Sam was wary of the smaller blond covered in vampires bites. He had clearly seen many battles and was an obvious threat due to his extensive battle experience.

The three wolves were the full extent of the reservations current fighting force. They were inexperienced and outnumbered when Sam compared his packs strengths to that of the coven. It was unnerving. The wolf bristled at the situation and just wanted to fight the vampires. These complicated human affairs and illogical treaties. He was a protector. He should strike these vampires and pay with his life if need be, to rid this threat from his territory. But no, his human was conversing with them.

Worse still, his human backed away from these creatures and slipped into the woods and shifted into human. Facing the enemy in his most vulnerable form. When had the humans ceased to be warriors at heart?

Sam felt that his wolf had altogether too much input into his life lately and wasn't interested in any of the thoughts that his wolf was sharing with him.

"How can we be of service to you Alpha?" The competent and cultivated vampire asked the brave young man standing before him.

"Isabella Swan, daughter of Forks Police Chief, Charles Swan is now under our protection. I've learned that one of your coven has been spending time with her, he plans to take her to Seattle." Sam used a stoic, impassive face and a calm but firm voice. "I need your co-operation and your word that your coven will extricate yourselves from personal involvement in her life."

He wasn't pleased with the frown on the coven leaders face. The vampire grimaced and his comrade's shifted uneasily. Sam clenched his fists.

"What is the young lady's opinion on this?" Dr Cullen asked delicately.

Sam held his mask forcefully in place as he felt his wolf wrestling for control inside of him. He knew he couldn't answer the question in full honesty and expect the outcome of this meeting to go as he wished it to. He carefully formulated his words, knowing the truth was necessary. The truth physically choked him.

"She is important to us. If you value our treaty, you will honour this request. I can't make concessions on this point." Sam admitted slipping up enough for the three vampires to see his vulnerability.

The mist from the wolves heavy breathing evaporated into the dark night. All three young men struggling with the wretched stench permeating the air. A slice of the moon broke out of the clouds sporadically shedding faint light on the clearing. Two vampires and three werewolves stared down their noses at each other. Only the doctor recognizing a balance; natural order.

Concerned and thoughtful, the head of the coven spoke again. "Would you allow me to speak with my sons for a moment in private please?"

Sam nodded and the vampires backed away to the far side of the clearing; not taking their eyes off the wolves until they were a fair distance away. Moments later the three vampires looked up in unison and without making any sudden movements, headed back to the center of clearing.

"My children are attending school with Miss Swan. I can't promise that they will never be in contact with her. But they will significantly minimize contact with her. We acknowledge her under your protection. We value our alliance with your people."

The rendezvous was stressful. Even though it didn't take long, it felt like an eternity for all those who participated. An oblivious Bella slept in her bed under Edward's watchful eye, unaware of what his father had just agreed to.

Approaching Bella's house to assure himself of her safety, Sam was slapped with the scent of a Cullen again. Not one of the Cullen's who had been in the clearing. Clearly, no one had informed this Cullen of the addition to treaty just yet. To his shock and horror, the copper haired vampire who had been watching a brunette in the high school parking lot, crept out of imprints bedroom window. What had he done to her? His hackles shot up and prepared for the kill.

Edward approached the angry black wolf at the edge of the woods. He read all the information from Sam's mind that he needed to know. It stung. Edward had just heard this pup's name on her lips in her sleep. Sam. The same way she had breathlessly said Edward's name she had whispered his name. But she was his singer. She was his! The monster inside spoke up in amusement. The monster that wanted to suck her dry. His what? He meal? He knew his possessiveness was unreasonable. This mongrel was equally if not more possessive believing he had found his soul mate. Flashes of Edward's Bella throwing her head back in passionate ecstasy, writhing beneath Sam brought him up short. Images he read in Sam's mind as the boy thought of her possessively. It was one of the many things Edward knew that he could not give her. There wasn't much of meaningful value that Edward felt he could offer her aside from death.

Edward acted unaware, not wanting the wolves to know his mind reading capabilities.

"Since when did the treaty allow you into Forks in this form?" To Edward's embarrassment, Sam phased into human form to speak completely nude.

"Bella Swan is officially under our protection. I trust we have your full co-operation and that I won't be seeing you on her property in future?" Sam's entire face and body language cast his harsh shadow of judgment on Edward's presence. Without saying the words, it was apparent that Sam was convinced Edward shared an uncanny resemblance to dog shit.

The air became icy from hostility.

In a fraction of the blink of an eye, Edward dropped into a crouch and Sam phased.

Hate! Black and putrid, forced her head under ice cold water. Adrenalin violated her dreams and she found her body propelling itself out of bed and stumbling to her window, instinctively knowing she would find him outside.

"Stop!" She yelled a throaty order. Only with her voice, it lacked the fierceness of the low growls coming from the men in her yard. In comparison, she was as intimidating as a small chihuahua with her higher pitched approximation of a roar. And yet, two awesome and powerful beings obeyed her simple command.

She hadn't honestly expected to full grown men with supernatural powers to obey her. She was a simple seventeen year old girl. They stood watching each other, waiting. She supposed they were waiting for more from her. But what was she supposed to say or do now.

It was then that she heard Charlie, lumber out of bed, muttering curse words when stubbed his toe and knocking on her bedroom door.

"Bella? Why are you yelling?"

She quickly thought. What should she do?

"There are some idiotic animals fighting in our yard." She said shooting a glare at the two men. "I think I scared them away."

"You want me to do something about it?" Charlie yawned.

"Itsokay Char-Dad," her voice muffled through the door.

"Night Bella."

"G'night."

Charlie shuffled back to his room.

Bella chewed her lip. A vampire and a wolf crouched in her yard. Still waiting for her while not trusting each other enough to stand down.

"If you hurt each other... you're hurting me." Looking the two of them over, she huffed at them before closing her bedroom window and returning to bed.

Abashed but still angry, the antagonists slowly backed away.

Sunday passed uneventfully.

Monday morning, Bella rose early, coerced by the sun. She sat at a bench outside the school working on some trigonometry problems she wasn't convinced were solved correctly when she had done her homework.

Sam stood in the tree line watching. Aware that she had asked for space but that Cullen was perched watching her. Their eyes met venomously. Sam was relieved that Cullen wouldn't be attending school today. His sparkly ass would give him away and they would abandon town in the blink of an eye.

Sam watched the Tribal school parking lot fill and the students filter into the doors unenthusiastically. Amongst them was Leah. He hadn't seen her since he imprinted. He half wished that she would take the step to break up with him. He didn't wish to publicly humiliate her by approaching Bella in public again before she was aware that their relationship was expiring. He suspected she knew. But then, maybe this was the imprint talking? He wasn't sure this was what he had believed on Saturday even after he first imprinted. So quickly his thoughts were swallowed up by Bella.

The brunette girl with the tinge of red in her hair, working industriously before school started, held his rapt attention again. A blond boy called her name, pulling her attention away from the trees. Why was she watching the trees out there? Had she seen Cullen? Had she sensed him? He was technically following the treaty, but he was, pushing his luck. As though hearing his thoughts, Cullen looked at him. They had reached an uncomfortable stalemate.

Sam returned his attention to the blond boy, Mike. He dared to touch her hair. He asked Bella for a date. He couldn't help his smirk when she rejected him and redirected his affections to another.

As she entered the school, his attention returned to Cullen.

And so began very long and uncomfortable days. Lines unclear and Bella astraddle two men.

**I don't know about you, but if I were her, I'd ride the both before I made any decisions. You know, just to be sure. Just sayin'. Unfortunately, Bella was never that practical. **


	4. Assaults

AN: I've spent more time working on this chapter than I think is reasonable so I'm going to drop it on your laps. I tried a version that cancelled the trip, I tried a new version of Edward and Bella's drive home from Port Angeles and I tried the fight. I think this worked out the best of the three.

I want to own twilight, I want to own a Yamaha FJR1300 motorbike and a pony. Unfortunately, I've got nada. You want to donate cash for my causes or reviews for my story?

English class was dragging insufferably for Leah. She sat in class watching the clock above the door. Mrs Kalaloch had gotten started on her favourite topic to lecture inappropriately about again. Most of the teenagers were unable to ignore her and were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Sex before marriage. Leah had been amused the first two or three times Mrs Kalaloch's lessons had devolved into a plug for abstinence watching her class mates wriggle in their seats. But having heard it too many times, it wasn't even funny anymore. The strangest thing about this teacher was that she was clearly uncomfortable with the subject matter herself.

Leah doodled a picture of the clock as a cartoon character and herself viciously stabbing the cute face with scissor's. Its little arms and legs scrambled to get away from her. She then used the red pen to make blood and gore. Gore being the bloody nuts, washers and wheels seeping from it's open wounds. God, someone kill that clock. She scrunched up her face less than pleased with her cartoon. It turned out more morbid than she had intended.

The source of her pent up aggression being Sam. He hadn't called and she hadn't seen him around. He hadn't turned up to meet her after school. She hadn't gotten laid in many months, although that was her own fault, he had been willing when he had returned. But still, she was feeling a little sexually frustrated. And bored.

If she had been more comfortable with her emotions, she would have also noticed that she was hurt by Sam. She heard down the grapevine that he had disappeared with a white girl from Forks, Chief Swan's daughter on Saturday down on the beach. Yet another mystery to add to the pile. She doodled with thick jagged marks over her clock attack, turning it into a disturbing murder scene.

She realized she didn't want Sam anymore. But she did want to offload her anger, disappointment and hurt. And maybe get laid in the process. And with that she made a decision. It was her last class for the day and she was going to find him.

"Mrs Kalakoch." Leah raised her hand at the same time that she spoke.

Mrs Kalakoch was annoyed at being interrupted but supposed that maybe she had repeated herself and she didn't want her students reporting her. "Yes Leah."

"I'm not feeling well, can I go see the school nurse?"

The teacher felt her stomach drop. She's pregnant. Of course, that was usually what Janet Kalakoch thought whenever a female student was sick. She dismissed Leah without saying another word.

Leah gathered her books into her school back and left the classroom. Of course, she didn't bother seeing the school nurse. She couldn't care less if they called her father because she ditched her last class of the day. She was on a mission. She marched down the hallway lined with lockers and out the fire exit. She jumped into her mothers Ford Taurus Station wagon and drove to Alison Uley's house. She paused at the only traffic light and put on a little mascara in her rear view mirror and fluffed her hair up in the mirror.

Arriving at the Uley residence there was no sign of anyone home. Leah waited.

The restless nights must have added up because she was startled awake by Jared Cameron knocking on her window. The sun was setting and Paul Lahote was standing behind Cameron. Sam's new side kicks. She couldn't figure out why he had picked up these kids. She glared at them both as she sat up and wound down the window of the old car.

"What?" She demanded.

"Leah," Cameron said gently as though he were speaking to a scorned ex-lover of his best friend. It hit her hard. Sam had failed to inform her of this change. "What are you doing here?"

"I hate people who keep pet dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves." Leah muttered to herself. Cameron raised his eyebrows in suspicion and Lahote started shaking again. She didn't even say anything to Lahote; that boy was much too highly strung to get angry that easily. "If he's going to dump me, he's going to have to do it in person." She cast him a pointed look and proceeded to fold her arms over her chest.

Jared rubbed his eyes, wishing her to disappear out of his sight. In recent months he'd been under a lot of strain. He'd burst into a fucking dog, he'd been made obedient to a man he hardly knew, he'd learned about vampires, he was given the responsibility of keeping his people safe from said vampires, he had imprinted on a shy girl at school only two days after his Alpha had found imprint and now his alpha was obsessed with stalking his imprint and they were dealing with a vampire stalking the same imprint. With school and lying to his parents... he was starting to feel a little burnt out. He loved Leah's fire, but he just didn't think he was in a place in his life where he could deal with it.

The silence stretched out for much too long.

"Fine then! Wait here. But who knows when he'll be home next." Cameron smirked walking away from her. Leah narrowed her eyes at him. Just then, Sam emerged from the trees. Of course, Leah batted her eyes smugly at Cameron. He rolled his eyes and walked away with Lahote.

"Leah, what are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"Waiting for my boyfriend who hasn't spoken to me in days. So, I took the truck; refusing to talk to me is just childish." Leah climbed out of the car and angrily walked towards him jabbing her finger into his chest.

"I'm not upset about the truck. I mean this with all due respect Leah, but I have some stuff going on right now. Can we talk later?" Sam sighed heavily. Leah was getting even angrier because she wanted to intimidate him put him in his place. But aside from an emotion that resembled remorse, he didn't seem to be particularly affected by him. She had planned to sleep with him one last time, but she just wanted to rip his balls off and shove them down his throat. The fact that he wasn't that upset by her presence spoke volumes. They hadn't officially broken up and he was already getting over her.

"With slightly less respect Sam, you'd be out of your depth in a puddle. Now, stop blowing smoke up my ass and say it."

A stiff mask covered Uley's face and Leah knew he was shielding himself. She supposed she had gotten a reaction from him.

"I don't want to marry you and I don't want to date you anymore."

She took in a sharp breath through her nose and nodded her head. That was all it took. Leah Clearwater turned around, got in her car and drove home.

The trip to Port Angeles at the end of the week was an estrogen driven rush with Jessica, Angela and Bella singing whiny rock songs and talking about Jessica and Angela's dating adventures. They hit the department store in the more industrial section of town, further away from the tourists.

Bella was enjoying herself until discussions on her love life were brought up. She had admitted to never having gone to any dances in Phoenix. The two girls were dubious. Bella wasn't particularly interested in sharing anything about her love life at the moment. And then she was hit with it.

"Tyler told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica eyed Bella suspiciously.

"He said what?" Bella choked out.

"I told you it wasn't true." Angela muttered to Jessica.

They continued talking while Bella fumed. Should she run Tyler over with her truck and call it even? Would he leave her alone then?

She tried to pay attention to the dress shopping but couldn't. She already had stress with watching Sam and Edward during the past week. The tension had been so thick she could have baked it and served it up as a meal. She needed Tyler to add this to the pile.

Bella wanted to read more on the tribes legends and had found a bookstore online that she wanted to check out a book on the topic. She decided this would be a good time for this. She let Angela and Jessica know that she was going to the book shop and would meet them later at the restaurant.

As Bella walked, her mind was filled with Sam, Edward, Tyler and Mike and the frustration of going from her uncomplicated life in Phoenix to this... well whatever this was.

On the edge of Port Angeles Sam and Edward were having yet another disagreement. Edward felt that he was well within his rights to stalk Sam's imprint. And Sam felt he had ownership over the young woman who had asked for space.

A skirmish broke out between Sam and Edward, neither going for the kill knowing that it would hurt Bella. And yet wanting to fit some pain into each other's lives. Finally an opportunity to vent some of that pent up rage.

The sun was casting long shadows, but sunset was some time off yet. People were heading home from work and Bella was too deep in thought to remember she was supposed to be walking towards a destination. Four men intercepted her on a road in an industrial area.

"Hey there!" A stocky man grinned menacingly at her.

"Hello," was her knee-jerk response and she moved to duck around them. A hand caught her shoulder, spinning her back around to face him. They laughed loudly at her. "Get away from me!" She yelled at them. Her throat was too dry to scream and they were pressing in so closely that she couldn't think clearly.

"We just want to talk to you."

Bella was fully alert and the heady shot of fear throbbed through her body. They were standing within a foot of her, circling her from all sides. A hand roamed her back side and she squeaked jumping away and into another man.

"Don't be like that, sugar," the stocky man teased her.

She took a shot at his face hoping to take his eyes out but her hand was caught in the air. A number of hands descended on her at once dragging her to the ground. Bella let out a strangled cry as they held her down and a hand tried to reach into her jeans. Her head connected with the concrete, blinding her for a moment. She kicked and hit and bit anything and everything near her. Her teeth finally sunk into a hand and she was met with a satisfying yelp of pain and a metallic taste in her mouth.

"Bitch bit me!" Her hair was yanked back causing her let out another strangled scream that didn't make nearly as much noise as she wanted it to. Hands gripped painfully onto her breasts as a hand slipped beneath her underwear, a finger nail cut into her as he shoved into her folds. As suddenly as it started, the assault ceased. The men were snatched away.

Snarls blasted into the night. Bella flipped over into a defensive crouch trying to see into the dark. Pained screams and disgusting sounds of flesh and bone crunching and squishing lashed her ears. She feared that she was next. Her fear built in a knot that she couldn't loosen, tighter and more restricting by the second.

Finally, the sounds ended and stepping under the dim security lights near the dumpsters, were Sam and Edward.

She wanted to get up and walk away. But the sounds and the sensation of fingers pushing inside her still overshadowed her conscious thoughts. The best she could do was hold back the whimpered cry of relief. So felt weak and stupid and clumsy and useless. Inadequate.

Two beautiful men stood in the dark. Their shapes so different, their movements both managing to be predatory but so different. Both powerful but one hot and one cold. They approached but she just wasn't ready yet. Bella backed away and heard herself making stupid panting sounds fighting for a deep breath that never came. The weight of what had happened shook her. They both stood lower and raised their hands to appear less threatening. She knew they weren't a threat. But she needed space right now while she tried to calm down a little.

"Breathe... shh, shh, shh." Sam hushed her. "You're okay. I've got you."

The cross between gasps and pants drifted away and she focused in on Sam. A calm breath finally came. She needed him right now. Knowing about Leah, everything had been guilt laden when she thought of him. But right now she needed him anyway..

"Sam?" Bella squeaked.

That was all he needed, he rushed forward and took her in his arms. While she buried her face in Sam's neck, he watched Edward take care of the bodies.

Sam met with Bella's friends and she let them know that she was getting a ride home with him. She watched him as he drove her, taking quick peeks at her as he drove. His face was lit up by the dashboard casting lines over her masculine features.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. She had a sore where the man had cut her with his nail inside her but was too embarrassed to say it. What could he do about it? Kiss is it better? She shook her head at her inappropriate thoughts. She didn't want to be weak. She wanted to show him strength. But the presence of her imprinted wolf was soothing in itself; it would have been easy to lull herself into curling into his side and clinging to him for security.

His jaw tensed watching the road, thinking about something he didn't like. "What did they do to you?" He didn't see? It was for the better. She thought.

"I'm okay. Nothing happened."

Sam's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I saw his hands down- I smelled you on his hand. Some- things happened." He didn't like being lied to, especially by Bella. The cab began to vibrate.

"Sam! Stop! Please don't talk about it again! I don't want to think about it anymore."

He dropped her off at the door, kissing her on the forehead much to Charlie's surprise.

After he drove home, Sam spoke with the coven leader over the phone that night. Carlisle assured him that Edward would no longer be stalking Miss Swan. That night, Sam curled up underneath Bella's window, his wolf unable to trust that nothing would happen to her through the night. If he was going to survive his imprint, he was going to have to convince her to move in with him.

Okay, I totally made myself squeamish writing the Port Angeles thing. If I was less squeamish, I would have done a better job of it. Sorry.


	5. Waiting For Sunrise

**AN: And the disclaimer yadayada yada, and I don't own stuff and stuff. And dude, something about twilight. Got it?**

**Thanks to my reviewers, Greywolflove, caggie, Prophetical, seza3175, Preetoka Raven Potter Weasley, Kathy Hiester, Natashar, sonyabrady1971, aggy73!**

Sam comforted Bella in her time of need. He cleansed her soul. He filled her dreams and her body longed for his touch. But for every moment she spent with him, she was reminded that he hadn't chosen her. He had chosen his fiance, Leah and he had been forced to want Bella. The guilt and hurt swallowed her up causing much anguish and tears.

Edward intrigued her to distraction. He had come to her rescue at least three times already. He could make her soar and he could make her crash with merely a look. He filled her conscious thoughts and left her wanting more. She had been dazzled.

At the crack of dawn, Bella heard Charlie rustle around downstairs before leaving the house with a bang of the front door. The cruiser pulled away and that was when Bella realized that was all the sleep that she was going to get. When she sat up, the bruising and tenderness were brutal recapitulation of the previous night. A lump as hard and sharp as a small rock nestled in her throat and she had to take a grip of herself to not start crying.

"This is ridiculous." She told herself, as her bottom lip trembled and hot tears pushed their presence forward. "They saved you. Get over it." Her body ached for Sam again. But her mind rebelled against the notion. It was a lie. Her feelings for Sam were a big fat lie and she should be ashamed of herself for entertaining any notions of seeking comfort from this lie.

The mysterious and intense Edward was a more inviting thought. She pulled herself to her school bag and pulled out the number Alice had given her in the hallway last week and went downstairs still in her pajamas. Taking the phone off the hook, she timidly dialed the number and waited evenly for an answer. While she maintained composure, her heart pounded and anyone could have smelled the fear coming from her. She didn't have any idea what she would say. She hoped the words would come to her.

"Bella?" A confused Edward answered before growling. "What did that mongrel do to you? I'll be right there. I'll bring you to the hospital and my father will take a look at you dear-"

"N-no! Sam has been perfect. I just-" She stuttered trying to find the right words. "I just... I wanted to talk." She was met with silence to her great disappointment. She waited for him to say something. But the silence was deafening. "I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to impose on you. I-"

"It's not that Bella darling. You chose... You need... You need to talk to Sam. Good bye Bella." And with those three words, he finished the conversation. Bella stared at the disconnected phone in her hand in desolation for a long moment before she was wrangled from her misery by a knock at the front door. It was a difficult decision to drag herself from the kitchen and her abandonment but eventually she found the where with all to answer the door.

Standing behind the door, bare chested and glistening from the light Olympia Peninsular rain, was Sam with a pained look on his face. She instantly felt guilt and let him inside. They stood in the hallway staring at each other. She wanted fold into herself. He wanted to fold her into himself.

"You woke me up, I felt your pain. You called... him?" His voice broke on the last word. As though she had betrayed him. Bella's stomach dropped. She hadn't thought about how this would affect him. All the same, she was still feeling abandoned and rejected by Edward.

"Why did Edward tell me to talk to you? Why did he... What's going on?" It was easier to focus on this than to address his hurt feelings. She would have to consider his feelings later. Right now, she had more emotions than she felt capable of containing inside of one body. Vulnerable, weak, rejected, stupid, inadequate. And those roaming hands were still soiling her body long after they were dead and gone.

"Edward is a walking corpse." Sam told her tightly. His body was tense and held still. His face emotionless. His words stung and hotly swelled under her skin like a bee sting. Edward was the embodiment of all the characters from her favourite stories. Everything she had always wanted in a man. And her perfect man had rejected her at a very low point in her life. "He has no business with my mate and he knows this."

Anger and resentment bristled Bella. Sam's mate? His mate? Was she something to be owned? And whose decision was it to decide what business she was to another man? She hadn't agreed to a monogomous relationship with Sam. She hadn't agreed to anything. As her anger and resentment crested and washed over her, she felt the hot tears that always accompanied her anger. "Whose decision was this? Shouldn't I have a say whose mate I am? Who decided that I have no business with Edward?" She moved closer to him, spitting her hostile questions at him as though hurling insults. Looking up into his eyes she saw for a brief moment hurt quickly replaced anger.

"You would prefer that old blood sucking bat for a mate? Is that what you're telling me?" He trembled.

"Mate? It really isn't you that's attracted to me is it? What man thinks of a woman as his mate? It's just your wolf and you don't want me. You want Leah and you will always pine for her!" Her words were laced with venom. Her eyes flashed with decision. "You're free to go to her! I release you!"

As if it were that easy. As though he were bound to her by only her will. And that she would throw him away so easily. She didn't want him. She rejected him. His imprint rejected him! Sam shook as he struggled to maintain his human form.

Watching him shake, she had already started backing away. Her eyes met his and they shared a moment of horror as they realized he wasn't going to manage to stay in human form for much longer. Bella knew she was too clumsy to even try to run. So she spun around and curled in a ball on the floor defensively. The sound of ripping and two forms either side of her filled her senses. Hot breath tickled the back of her neck.

Her breath was fast and frightened. But she brought herself to roll onto her back. She lay with her legs drawn up between Sam's front paws. His form pressed into the ceiling and against the walls. More than likely he had left damage in all three. His snout pointed down and their eyes met. Tension left his body looking remorsefully into her eyes. Bella watched as he gently shimmered down to his human form, arms braced either side of her and his knees at her hips, over her supine position.

"I'm sorry." He breathed.

In her head, she thought that she should probably be afraid. He could have maimed or killed her and now he hovered over her without any clothes on. But her senses told her that she was in the safest place in the whole wide world. She soaked herself in his intense dark brown eyes. Bella didn't want to hurt Sam like she had. But she wasn't going to give herself to this stranger. Was she?

His scent and sorrowful eyes engulfed her senses. As though she were bathing in his presence. Her instincts tugged her heartstrings against her tight control. If she could just drag her eyes from his, she would be free from this moment. His face came ever closer to hers and her body hummed with anticipation. She could feel herself prepare to wrap herself around him. As though that was what was supposed to happen.

He was beautiful and he was hers. Her hands tentatively took his face and brought his lips to hers. Her heart sped and need and want pulled her into depths never before experienced. Her head swam in the surf. It was so easy to just lay herself open to him. To her mate.

And there was the thought that made the needle scratch on the tune humming through her body.

Finally experiencing a modicum of self-awareness, she found his bare body faintly touching her thin pajamas, his heat leaving scorching trails on her skin. She didn't have the restraint to pull away. Her body had passed that point already and she was making mewling sounds into his mouth. Lust, his lust was being poured onto her fertile body. He had been growing more aware of her presence through the imprint with each passing day. He couldn't mistake exactly what had happened. His need had passed through him and she was feeling it as though it were her own. She didn't even know enough about imprinting to realize what he was doing to her. He groaned before he pulled away.

His face was a picture of pained regret as he sat back on his heels and offered her a hand. She was still panting wantonly when she saw his erection. Embarrassed she quickly looked away and saw his shredded clothes covering the floor and dents in the walls and ceiling.

A stark reminder of the danger she had been in sobered up her soon enough. Sam followed her eyes and seemed to read her mind. "I'm sorry about... the wolf... and groping you." He hung his head shamefully. She readily accepted his apology for bursting into a wolf. But it felt wrong to hear an apology for... making her feel what she had felt. She hadn't felt anything like it before.

"I felt... something I haven't felt before. Please don't apologize for making me feel... that." She blushed as he smiled conspiratorially at her. She avoided meeting his eyes. When she looked down her eyes settled on a sight that was like looking directly into the sun. Her skin burned a full body blush and she tried to look somewhere else but his muscled thighs failed to ease her bashfulness. Her stomach clenched and she felt something bordering on the need she had felt when he had suspended himself gently over her. Only it felt more... her. For some reason, that was all the more embarrassing.

"I... er... I'm going home to get some clothes. Can we talk later today?" His voice did nothing to ease her arousal but drew her eyes to his. For that she was grateful having been struggling to find a safe place to look. He stood tall and confident despite his nudity and her prying eyes. She instantly felt a pang of jealousy of his confidence.

"Okay." She ducked around him and headed for the stairs to her bedroom. Her mind telling her to run, to find escape before he captured her in lust again.

The forest flew by the moment he phased and joined the conscious thoughts of the two other wolves in his pack. He could still feel her body below him. His mind had chanted at him: Only a kiss, only a kiss, only a kiss. He had felt her fear and had felt it melt away when he had phased to human. But the moment his lust had protruded, he had felt his overwhelming need pull on her. She might not understand where that feeling had come from, but he felt guilty to press his own feelings on her after what had happened last night. It felt wrong on so many levels. Moreso given he had lost control of his wolf, he could have killed her.

Sam felt sick.

Jared and Paul were awash with Sam's thoughts and feelings. Paul especially confused by burning arousal from Sam's memory of her underneath him doused abruptly by memories of the previous nights attack and almost killing Bella.

Dude, not cool. I was getting really into that. Paul grumbled as he struggled to put such divergent emotions into context. He was never good with emotions as it was. He was still unstable. He couldn't deal with so many conflicting emotions at once.

Is she okay? Jared wondered. Are you cool?

Sam didn't have an answer for Jared. Right now, he could feel Bella's shame. He remembered how her body had lain open for him. She wouldn't have stopped him had he pushed further. But when she had come back to herself, when the link from the imprint had allowed her coherent thought, she would have regretted it. And he never wanted her to regret him. It hurt enough to have her feel ashamed for kissing him. He had enjoyed how sensitive she was to him. He had enjoyed Leah's experience and self-knowledge. He had never thought he would enjoy innocence and inexperience. Yet he had enjoyed everything about that moment. That she didn't still feel the same way he did was disappointing.

Once Sam had joined them, they ran together. Unified and strong. Brothers. The wind blew her blessings over their wolf forms, caressing their bonds. The sun dropped feather light kisses on them through the small glimpses she caught of them through the canopy of leaves. Beds of soft earth and moss waited for them to tire and take their natural place of rest. Trees philosophically stood witness to another generation of wolves, unyielding and carefully distant.

Sam accepted the call of the mossy beds and left his pack mates to patrol while he slept. But all he could find in his dreams were torture. His Bella bent over, face pushed into the concrete as those monsters took her. And him running to her, but never reaching her. He was grateful to his friends waking him from his nightmare.

Meanwhile, Bella curled up on her bed alone trying to decipher her feelings. Her draw to Edward, her need for Sam and her sense of foreboding for her future. Would the sun rise for her again? Would she find peace? Would she fear for Sam snapping her in two if she made a life with him? Would she spend the rest of her life experiencing guilt? Could she find something better with the elusive Edward? Would Edward want her? Was he too good for her?

The sun was up behind the heavy cloud cover at higher altitudes than she was living; she couldn't find it right now. She longed for it's kiss on her forehead. She longed to witness a sunrise again. The sun coming up to greet her with hope and joy again. Without need and without fear.

**AN: So, I was away camping. I hope this makes up for the wait. Review, pretty please?**


	6. Who's right?

**Disclaimer: Ingredients of this story include an unknown glowing substance which fell to Earth, presumably from outer space. Crap! Wrong disclaimer! Let me look around here. Okay, try this. Any resemblance to twilight characters, living or dead is purely coincidental. Shit! That's not true. Well I tried to write a serious dis-lamer.**

**Thanks to my awesome reviewers Preetoaka Raven Potter Weasley, sonyabrady1971, Kathy Hiester, greywolflove, DragonBby and froggydee2. I really appreciate the input and support. And thank you to those who've added me to their favourites and story alerts. A little earlier on the posting than I expected, but I'm psyched with how a few parts worked out. And Edward is an asshole who won't fit nicely in his box. *stands on 'dick in a box'* That's better.**

The longing physically pained her. She watched him through the school door windows. Perfection incarnate. Her heart ached at the thought that he would move on to someone else. Someone worthy of him. Someone who could make his dreams come true. Bella tripped on thin air as she walked down the hall towards class that also just so happened to be towards the doors he was entering the school through.

Mike's hand shot out and caught her elbow, giving her a sweet smile. Despite her attempt to be appreciative but controlled, the blush crept up on her.

Edward felt eyes boring a hole in his back. He glanced serenely over his shoulder at Sam standing in the parking lot. He nodded stiffly at Sam's frown in agreement. Whatever he could have meant to the girl silent minded, shy girl, it shouldn't be. She deserved better than the both of them. But having to choose to between the two of them, Sam could offer so much more than he could. And he wouldn't be tempted at every moment of every day to bite into buttery soft skin for a taste of her floral and strawberry sweetness. There was a monster inside Edward that was scratching away at the surface to suck her dry. He was more real than Edward. There was very little holding Edward together as the controlled immortal that he was. It wasn't that deep down that he wanted to rip into her. The monster was very real and it was laughing at him and his vague attempts to share a bond with his singer.

While Bella was worried that he would move on, Edward was aware of every one of her slightest movements. He was aware of her beautiful scent. Aware of every beat of her heart delivering her oxygenated blood around her delectable body. He was watching every emotion on her face when he caught a chance to watch her without her noticing. He was more aware of her than any human possibly could be and it hurt more than words could describe. He was happy that she would move on; even though it hurt that he strongly suspected that she would forget him.

That he could see that she was watching him was a small consolation. He wisely avoided eye contact, using his faster reflexes to catch glimpses of her without her notice.

"Edward," Her sweet human voice addressed him in the doorway of his class. A class that they did not share. He avoided eye contact, but stood stock still. "Edward?" Her voice cracked this time knowing that she had his attention, but he was reviewing to answer her. His only acknowledgement of her addressing him personally being him waiting there as his classmates passed by them to his class. It tasted bitter that he hadn't answered her, but sweet that she was this close to him and he wasn't making his escape.

They had an audience in the classroom and hallway. "Please? Talk to me?" She felt tears prickle her eyes.

He knew that they couldn't go on like this. He was going to have to be a man and cut her loose. He snapped topaz eyes that somehow managed to be cold through the warm colour. "I have nothing to say to you." He sneered at her and turned his back on her before entering the classroom.

Eyes inside the classroom watched her heartache, a hot tear fell on her burning cheek and she saw more eyes staring at them in the hallway. She felt her stomach drop, oxygen sucked out of her lungs and refused to inflate them again. They had never been an item, but it hurt. For the first time in her life, she was being rejected. She clutched her books as though they were a lifeline and made a stumbling run to the exit doors.

Across the parking lot, she felt before she saw, Sam standing tall. A stable rock.

"Sam?" Her voice was husky and high through her tears. Clear as day, she knew she didn't have to explain anything to him. He felt what she felt. And suddenly she inexplicably understood something. They were bound together and like a yoke around their necks. If she didn't move with him, they were bound to failure. He was marching forward and she was digging her heels into the ground. If they didn't work together soon, her neck would snap and he would be dragging dead weight.

Bella worried her lower lip and made her way towards him.

Sam stood still, waiting for her to choose him. He watched her clumsy feet in her canvas shoes move across the cracked and puddle filled tarmac. She stopped a foot away from him staring up into his eyes. A visual lullaby to her senses, easing her pain though not ending it. With a squeaky cry she dropped her forehead on his chest and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He hated that Cullen had hurt her so deeply, but he was hopeful that she would finally let that bloodsucker go finally.

"It's true!" Leah shouted from the Tribal school parking lot. Bella jumped back from Sam dropping her books and splashing them when she landed in a puddle. This was a prime day for pointing out her clumsiness it would seem.

While Bella was intent on giving space between them, Sam kept a hand on the small of her back possessively. Leah stormed towards them, her temper spilling out of her like boiling hot black tar. She would have directed her anger at Bella, but the chick looked like an emotional basket case. She was skeptical that this mousy chick was a home wrecker. No, this was Sam. This was all Sam.

"You've been planning this for awhile huh? How long have you had your eye on her? How long did you have me ripping apart this side of Washington looking for you while you chased after fresh pussy?" She tore into him. If he hadn't been a werewolf, she would have had him backing up. But he had enough hunter instincts that she didn't intimidate him. He could smell her thick black anger bubbling over. Tar was the best description he could come up with for the scent coming from her.

She realized that he had meant everything to her but from the looks of things, she had meant nothing to him. And it fucking hurt. Realizing that she was about to do something very wrong she took a moment to remind herself of something. "Murder is a felony." She huffed before taking a deep breath.

"Leah, I haven't done wrong by you." Sam assured her.

"Sam, I know you." Leah sighed, regaining control of her temper. She prayed a short prayer for serenity because if she prayed for strength, someone was going to get hurt. "You do the wrong thing and justify it by calling it doing your duty. I'd applaud you on your consistency if you weren't such a fuck up." She sauntered away from him, managing to keep herself from doing something that she'd regret in a jail cell later. Or maybe it would be worth it. She wasn't sure yet.

They watched her leave and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. If Leah had gone after Bella, he couldn't be sure what he would have done to her. He had no idea that Leah had any restraint. He wrapped an arm protectively around Bella and led her to her truck. "I'm taking you home."

Bella assumed her home. But as soon as he headed west from the school, she realized that he meant his home. Her body was all too willing to remember how he had dented her walls and ceiling and then barely pressed his body against hers. Nothing had happened yet. Not nothing. A kiss. He hadn't done anything to her. But it had been so much already.

"How many ex-girlfriends do you have?" He had seemed far to calm dealing with his ex-girlfriend. She would have thought it should have been an emotional moment. Unless this had happened a good number of times.

"I've dated other girls, but she's my only ex-girlfriend." He replied keeping his eyes on the road ahead. She liked having the conversation focused on him and not her for once.

"How many girls have you kissed?"

"How many ex-boyfriends do you have?" He retaliated with a smirk. "You answer my questions and I'll answer yours.

Bella blushed.

Sam's eyebrows went up in shock. "That many?" She must have had a lot of boyfriends to produce a blush that red.

"What? No! I-you are assuming-None! I don't have any ex-boyfriends!" Bella sputtered defensively.

"None?" He asked surprised.

She looked out the window to avoid him seeing her embarrassment.

"That isn't anything to be embarrassed about."

"Sam, answer my question." She huffed.

"Sorry, what was the question?"

"Kissed?"

"Oh! That. Err... I don't know, I didn't keep track. Before Leah, seven or eight." It seemed like such an innocent question. He would have expected her to ask how many girls he had slept with. Which was only two. That was a number he had kept track of. Her question seemed to confirm the truth, she didn't have any ex-boyfriends. "How many boys have you kissed?"

"One." She whispered.

A huge grin spread over his face. "I was your first kiss?" He hadn't thought himself so possessive, but he had to admit that he thoroughly loved having that. Even if she never accepted him, he would at least have that.

She glared at him. "You owe me an answer first." She thought for a moment. She wanted to ask something revealing. He seemed to be well beyond kissing. "How many girls have you slept with?"

And there it was. He pulled up his driveway and pressed down the parking break. "Two. And I loved both of them." He met her eye to make sure that she saw he was telling the truth. He wasn't sure why it mattered that she knew that. But it bothered him to have her think that he slept around.

"Was I your first kiss?" He knew the answer, but he wanted her to confirm it for him.

She only nodded in answer. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her joyfully. He hoped to be her first everything. He wanted to mean everything to her. She meant everything to him by this point. If she left him, the world would seem to be unpopulated. Because none of the people around him would count as companionship.

She moaned helplessly as he poured his hope and joy and need into the kiss and into the imprint bond. He felt her tender, unguarded body open up to him. His hand cradled the back of her neck leaning her back slightly and his other hand stroked languid circles above her knee. He knew he could probably seduce her and bring her to his bed and he was sorely tempted. But he just knew it would be taking advantage of her sincerity. She bared her soul through her eyes and facial expressions so much of the time. Seeing how open she was now, she innocence was almost childlike. But her mind and body were no child.

When the scent of her arousal soaked his senses, he had to pull away. He wasn't sure he could stop if they continued kissing.

It hadn't been a long kiss and he hadn't touched her inappropriately. But no one had made her feel the way that Sam made her feel. What she didn't know, was that without the imprint, no one else could make her feel this way.

He led her out of her truck and into his house. He mentally kicked the lascivious wolf panting to bend her over his kitchen table and take what was his. He was still human even if a part of him was an animal.

They stood in his dinning room awkwardly. It was after lunch and much too early for dinner. He wanted to learn more about her. She wanted to know more about this supernatural world.

She spotted a poker set on the sideboard. She pointed in the direction and asked: "May I?"

Confused, he nodded, unsure what she was referring to. She pulled out a deck of cards and pulled it out of the box. "Would you play with me?"

He smiled. "Of course." His wolf imagined a plethora of dirty games he would like to play with her. But he was happy to settle for cards. He inwardly groaned at his lust and focused on keeping it at bay. He took a seat across from her at the dining table. "What do you want to play?"

"Crazy eights okay?" He nodded his assent.

She slowly dealt the hand and the game began quietly at first. Soon, conversation began to roll. It drifted over what her old school had been like. His parents. Her mother and stepfather. How Sam already knew Charlie. And then the Cullens.

"So, how do you kill vampires if they're indestructible? Sounds like an misnomer to me." She queried.

"We rip them apart and set fire to them. Fire is the only thing that will make sure that they don't come back together."

Bella went silent. Her mind working over a puzzle that he wasn't aware existed.

"And humans are defenceless?" She sought confirmation as she landed a king of hearts to his slight dismay.

"I'm here." He pointed it out.

"If I'm valuable to you and you're going around killing off vampires, you might as well draw a target on my forehead for kidnapping and potential victim. I want a defence." She told him bluntly frowning down at his ten of spades. He was chasing the lady in the card game and she had it.

Her words were as disturbing as they were frightening to him. What could she do?

She laid down her next card before speaking. "What can pierce their skin?" She asked analytically.

"Their own teeth and nails, our teeth and claws."

"Could I have a sample of them?" She asked while looking over her cards thoughtfully.

"Why?" His mind ticked as he tried to piece together a picture of what she was thinking.

"They're highly flammable, right?" He agreed. She dropped the queen of spades on him to his complet. "Not that it will be worth much with their speed. But I was thinking of nail or fang tipped arrows with fire tipped feathers. Maybe I could find chemical compounds to get the arrows to burst into flames down the shaft to the tips on impact. Or maybe tipped bullets?" She blushed lightly when she realized he was staring at her. She felt incredibly awkward.

Sam launched himself across the table and pulled her up to him. He kissed her cheeks, her forehead and finally her lips. "This is why you're my imprint!" He admired her proudly.

She ducked her head. "You're just complimenting me to avoid the point."

He was confused again. "What point?"

"That I'm beating you again." She grinned at him. She jumped out of his lap and went to make some coffee while he looked over the scores. She was right. She was beating him at crazy eights. And she was defenseless with a target on her forehead.

She snuck a peak at him and decided that she was wrong. Perfection incarnate was sitting right in front of her.

**AN: Well kiddies... a couple of dramatic confrontations (hopefully not overly so) taken care of I hope. *cracks knuckles* Who's ready to set the stage for battle? I'll see if I can figure out some lemons. I find them tricky to do without it turning into vulgar porn. I happen to like vulgar porn in my own life... Anyway, please review if you likes.**


	7. New Relationships

**AN: I don't own Sam or Jacob or Edward or ... oh God that's depressing. Disclaimer attempt #2: Twilight and it's characters belong to Sailor Moon, my slave master, simple minds, a sado-masochist. your swollen member (insert your own fun abbreviation for SM here.) Does anyone read this shit? I am the Lizard Queen.**

**Here you have the end product of my procrastination. Sorry it took awhile, but I was feeling motivated to get stuff done and not potter around in my imagination.  
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**Thank you to my lovely reviewers sonyabrady1971, vampiremom1221, grabski8, Preetoaka RPW, DragonBby, froggydee2, seza3175, .tomorrow., ShadowsInLight and Jeri252.**

The sunset danced through bold crimson, persimmon, flame and amber; fading into cobalt and phthalo blue before violet and hard black. Just as the resplendent shades sank below the horizon, a flash of jade green struck the sky bringing a climatic end to the sunset.

A deep sense of nostalgia settled on Bella standing in Sam's embrace on the cliff top. She could feel the waves crashing down below and the ocean breeze brushing the leaves in the trees against each other. Edward would be a memory. Another person in her life had just been passing through. She hadn't meant as much to him as she thought. It seemed as though he lost interest from the moment she had been hurt by those men. She supposed she wasn't clean to him. The lump in her throat and the weight on her chest were physically painful.

Sam spoke soothing words that she didn't understand in a lush whisper. His warm breath ghosting the top of her head meeting the cold ocean wind.

He was confident, strong and carried clout. She wanted that power. When he looked at her, she felt that power. As though it were hers and not her drawing it from him. Was it possible that she wasn't drawing the power from him? Was it possible that she had her own power?

She remembered being more confident when she first came here. She had been sure of herself. But that picture of herself was a painting. And when the rain had come, the paint had melted and drooled. Her self-confidence mucked up by Edward in bits and drabs. The men in Port Angeles had smeared noughts and crosses into her painting. She was still her, only she didn't recognize her anymore. She would have to put them behind her and paint a new self image. An image that included a woman who wasn't romantically challenged anymore but was still independent and strong.

Soon after they had put away the cards, Alison Uley had arrived and started cooking dinner. Paul and Jared had eagerly shown up as though they had been called. Bella had been uncomfortable. Alison was distrustful of the police chiefs daughter being in her house and hadn't said too much. Paul was keeping his distance. Jared had been distracted watching a house across the street.

Sensing her discomfort, Sam had been kind enough to take her to the cliffs to watch the sunset. They returned to the house just in time for Alison putting dinner on the table.

Sam knew Alison was keeping weed stashed around the house. Bella was making his mother nervous. Paul and Jared still smelled of dinner from their houses. They showed up at Jared's for dinner first where his aunt lived with them and had dinner ready first. Then the two of them showed up at Paul's for more dinner. Then they arrived at the Uley's for their third dinner. Having dinner at three houses each night, the amount of food they ate didn't draw as much attention.

There wasn't much conversation through dinner. Sam had missed two rounds of dinner and was feeling hungry still. Bella felt a full stomach and a craving for more. More what? She'd already eaten. Her eyes met Sam's dark eyes and she wanted more of him. She would happily dive into the cold ocean to ease the heat gathering from the depths of her hip and up through her torso. But she decided that now was not the time for that.

The boys stood up and started clearing the table abruptly. "Thanks Mom!" They called to Alison as they brought dishes into the kitchen and cleaned up.

Alison Uley was staring at Bella. She found it unsettling and blinked back, unsure what to do. Mrs Uley didn't seem to be in the least bit concerned that she was making her guest uncomfortable. Her guest had made her uncomfortable making eyes at her son. Bella was just about to stand up and help the boys wash up the dishes when Mrs Uley spoke, "Sit down kid." she ordered in a sharp tone.

Bella felt a small moment of defiance, but thought better of it and took a seat. Why was Sam's mother staring at her.

"I'm still tryin' to figure why Harry's given you his blessing. You just screwed up his daughter's love life. I reckon he wouldn't be taking a real shine to you right now girl." Mrs Uley suddenly made more sense. She was looking for something. Something that would make Bella stand apart. "I guess Old Quil thinks of you as family." She grumbled.

Seeing Bella purse her lips, Mrs Uley could see that the girl didn't understand her meaning aside from Charlie being good friends with the old man. "Old Quil's wife's maiden name is Swan. She's related to Charlie. Still, doesn't explain what Harry said." Bella looked stunned.

"She's Quileute?" Sam asked. How had no one mentioned this to him? Or Bella, she looked just as surprised.

"She's related to Quil Ateara?" Jared screwed up his face.

"She's not Quileute, she's not enough to be eligible for tribe membership. One Quileute Great-Great-Grandmother among fifteen pale face Great-Great-Grandparents does not a Quileute make." Mrs Uley shrugged indifferently. Then she saw that her audience were very much interested for some unknown reason.

She continued watching their faces for clues as she elaborated on the relation. "Molly's Grandmother is Charlie's Great-Grandmother. So Molly is Charlie's first cousin once removed. You asked if she's related to Quil, Jared. Quil and Bella are second cousin's once removed." She frowned at the boys, who had migrated from the kitchen into the dinning room, with her unveiled annoyance. The young people in the room wondered what this meant for imprinting. Was it about passing on the wolf gene? "Now will someone explain to me why this is all so damn interestin'?"

Bella and the boys all looked away from her penetrating stare at the same time. The boys easily covered by heading into the kitchen and back to washing the dishes. Bella however was not as fortunate, left trapped under the woman's icy stare. She tried not to look at Paul when he mock bounced his fist against his chest as a show of camaraderie with an amused smile. Bella's face told the story of a girl struggling under a stare and then being distracted over Alison's shoulder by an amusing sight while failing to hide her experiences. Not that Alison would let on, but the girl's inability to hide what she was thinking was endearing.

Mrs Uley turned her head back to the kitchen and rolled her eyes when she saw only Paul's back. Didn't take a genius to know that he'd been doing something behind her back. She chose to ignore it. The kids in her the house and the tribe's Elders were up to something. It was all too clandestine for her to catch, but she wasn't an idiot. Something was up. Mrs Uley went to do what she did every evening after dinner. She headed out to smoke a blunt.

She breathed a deep sigh of relief when the woman left the room yelling out to the boys heading out to the back deck. Sam walked towards her as Paul and Jared watched the back door with giant grins on their faces.

"I need to go home."

Sam couldn't hide his disappointment. But he finished up and drove her home as the evening set into night fall. The day would come soon, when she would live with him. For now, he would cherish the time he had with his imprint.

Edward sped along the highway in his silver Volvo S60 R when he heard a stream of cursing. He recognized the Alpha's ex-girlfriend's furious and upset thoughts in a Ford Taurus ahead of him. He recognized her emotions in her thoughts buried under the vitriol spewed at her parent's car. She felt a need for speed and the car's speed limiter had kicked in at 112mph to her distress. But those emotions buried under fury were very much the same as his. He felt for her in a way that very few could empathize with. He didn't feel that his situation was like hers, but those feelings, he recognized them all too well.

So when she pulled over to the side of the road to head butt the steering wheel and curse some more, Edward couldn't leave her at the side of the road like that. Making a sudden maneuver that would have plunged a human into a tree as wide some houses, he slid in behind Leah's parked car.

"Suck my cock, you stupid piece of shit! I'll send your fucking bucket of rust ass to the scrap yard to spend your remaining days as a cum dumpster! Your fucking mother was a snow blower you dickwad!" Leah finished the last sentence just as Edward approached her window and looked to be calling him a dickwad. They didn't say anything, but Edward had a hard time holding back a smile as the young lady continued a steady string of curse words she felt a need to yell at the poor car that was only doing what it had been programmed to do.

She certainly was spirited. Not a silent mind, but she certainly had an unusual mind. How she managed to continue a string of curse words aimed at a lowly vehicle while casually perusing the 'strange Forks High guy' standing in front of her at the same time was what caught him. Much like playing two tunes on each hand at the piano.

"What?" She huffed fearlessly on an empty country road after the sun had gone down. Usually it would annoy him, but she seemed to have her own mutation of sophistication in this generation. Which was an oxymoron when she had just lost her temper and spewed such despicable things only seconds before. He appreciated the small puzzle that she presented, even though she couldn't compare with Bella, maybe he could offer her a moment of solace.

"How did this car insult you so insufferably to deserve your scathing retaliation?" He mused.

"Listen buddy, I'm having a bad day... week... life." She frowned looking away from him and her thoughts internally. "Can I have my break down in private?"

He brushed aside her request and made his own. "You were flying before your limiter came on. Care to go faster?"

Initially, she wanted to strike him down and reject him out of turn. But what he was offering was exactly what she wanted to do. Leah had never had a problem with speeding before. But today she felt this instinctual need to go fast. Faster than fast. She wanted to fun but couldn't fun as fast as she wanted to go. Her whole body ached to pound the ground and run so fast her lungs expanded and fell hard and the world rushed at her almost at a blur.

She gazed up at his beautiful face and felt his easy, casual smile radiate through her. As though she were being quietly hypnotized. "Yes." She answered from her dry throat.

He kept his eyes on her and gently opened her door for her. She watched him distrustfully, managing to hold onto the last vestiges of her sense of self-preservation. Leah undid her seat belt and ignored the hand he offered to help her out of the car.

It would be difficult to decide who was more surprised when Edward opened the driver's door to his car and indicated for her to get in. Edward had been thinking of driving, but here he was offering the driver's seat to her. But then, Leah liked to drive, liked to be in control. He wanted to do something for her.

She took the driver's seat and stroked the wheel in both hands. The car smelled of him. She couldn't think of what it smelled like, but she liked it. She adjusted the seat and the mirrors and looked to him in the passenger seat watching her with a small smile on his lips. It felt like he knew her deeply. Leah turned over the engine and felt the slight tremble on the gas pedal. She couldn't hear the engine in her seat, but she could sense it.

Grinning widely she wrapped her fingers around the gear stick, pleasant and hard in her hand. Feeling a thrill and excitement rush through she enthusiastically pushed down the clutch, pressed the gear stick into first. With a quick look over her shoulder at the road, she tested for the point of acceleration as she eased off the clutch and gingerly pressed down on the gas. The responsive car took off in a flash that she had never experienced in a car before.

Edward enjoyed watching her response to the car. Enjoyed watching her face come to life and her thoughts swarming with joy. Something that she clearly hadn't experienced in quite some time. He wanted to see this again. They didn't even know each others names. All she knew was that Sam didn't like him. Strike that, the Elders didn't like the Cullen's. This would really piss them off. And she liked that too.

In the hallways of the Tribal School, there was a stench crawling the walls. Jared and Paul couldn't nail down where the smell was coming from, it was general. The stench returned for weeks and they discussed it with Sam. They knew that the vampires hadn't been in the school. But it was as though they were becoming entrenched within the walls. The sweet, sickly scent tracked back and forth stinging their faces like chlorinated water high in the sinuses.

All the while, tensions with the Cullen's had eased to a comfortable distance. Tensions between Leah and Sam all but fell away. The wolves were living a quiet life until the friday of Spring Break came. As Sam waited with the pack for Bella at her truck, Leah bounded out of school and ran into Edward Cullen's arms. A short kiss and she turned for the driver's seat of his car and he tossed the keys over the car, which she easily caught one handed before ducking down into her seat.

The Pack tensely held their positions as the Coven pretended not to notice them. Not even the humans were as oblivious to the Pack as the Cullen's were pretending to be. Bella joined them watching the silver Volvo speed out of the parking lot.

"Was that Leah driving Edward's car?"

With a grim nod, Sam responded to her question.

"How can she stand the smell?" Paul asked incredulously.

"He smells good." Bella told him softly. The three wolves looked surprised. "He dazzles people." She tried to explain.

"Dazzles?" Sam repeated. She shrugged, not enjoying being the center of attention.

The Pack thought on what Bella had informed them and on what they had seen on, their drive to Alison Uley's house.

**AN: Preetoaka RPW, I put in the Ateara connection just for you. I aim to please as long as it doesn't disrupt the story too much. I hope that works for you. :)**


	8. A Moment Like The Most Awkward Sex Ever

**AN: This pompous sesquipedalian concedes that the characters and universe that were furnished within this fanfic were appropriated from SM's Twilight.**

**I read back over the last chapter a few times and realized something, don't spend too much time looking at color swatches before describing the colours of a sunset. I swear, it read like I was smoking crack. My apologies. Okay, admitting to smoking crack would probably be a better excuse than the truth. We'll just go with the smoking crack excuse. After blushing, I got over it and kept writing. Oh, and a couple of people asked about Edward. Dating Edward does not amount to a life long romance. For that matter, anyone dating anyone does not mean that you will spend eternity with them. And I am still the Lizard Queen! Or one of Lisa Simpson's plebs.  
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**Thanks to my reviewers aggy73, Kathy Hiester, PRPW, DragonBby, Prophetical, SiriBH, Jeri252, aixa00, seza3175, shanniin and those who have added me to your story alerts and favourites! You even took the time out for me after my brush with insanity. **

The family hunted. Edward left early and they were staying late. He had found something of a reprieve with the foul mouthed Quileute girl. They could see that it wasn't love. Alice didn't see anything bad coming of it. But she didn't see a real future for this... Edward supposed it was a relationship. Of a kind. There was a sexual connotation in the relationship, but he couldn't cross that line with a fragile human. The tension was there, but never explored beyond a short kiss or hug from Leah. Instead, it was heated looks and double-entendre's.

So when he arrived to his home, he wasn't prepared for what he found. Leah was pulling her dress up over her head at the riverbank behind the house, unaware of his presence. Her heart beat sounded moist in her chest, her clean scent that he could only describe as nature, wafting up to him and her heated body was enticingly supple. He yearned to drive into her as he sunk his teeth into her carotid artery through her buttery thin skin. He grimaced at the despicable monster barely contained within his thoughts. He had thought the monster would ease down after Bella. But Leah only tickled the parasite within him; at least to a lesser degree than the silent mind had. The foul demon was manageable with Leah.

As though she knew it would torture him, despite knowing through her thoughts that she was unaware of his presence, she proceeded to tug down her panties and ball them up on her dress behind her without glancing back. He had been too lost in his own thoughts to realize what she had been about to do and chastised himself for not having spoken up sooner. He should have made his presence known. But now he was watching like the Peeping Tom that he was.

Heat had slowly been creeping up her skin for the past two weeks and she had begun to notice her body had been subtly changing. She assumed the changes must have been going on for some time and she hadn't noticed because she had been too focused on Sam. Leah might have been a little crazy, because she could have sworn her breasts had grown in a matter of weeks and she had put on some height. She stepped down into the icy mountain water and gasped loudly. A breath was caught in her throat. The air must have been more humid than she had realized because she saw a small amount of steam leave the water where her skin met the stream.

The human moment etched into Edward like a hot knife carving an image into his skin. Forlorn that it wasn't his and never would be again.

Leah contemplated a man whose skin was hard as stone, his touch as cold as this water, and failed to deliver sexual advances even as he watched her through hungry eyes every day. She couldn't deny that he wasn't human anymore. She had strong suspicions of what he was, but chose not to think about them. She wouldn't say anything but it was too obvious for her not to be conscious of this fact. She also couldn't deny herself his companionship. And his cars. More importantly, Rosalie's BMW convertible. Leah was attached to that red convertible. She felt powerful and fast in that car. Her hair whipped by the wind. An engine revving at her command. The world flying by. Who was she to look a gift horse in the eye? No, she would enjoy what she had today while it lasted. She ignored all that was wrong and enjoyed all that was right.

He was due back tomorrow morning and while she had no interest in a public skinny dip at first beach or any of the other public waterways in the area, this private stretch of water gave her what she was seeking. Icy cold water in privacy.

She sucked in another breath as she stepped waist high into the water. Edward could see the fierce goose bumps all over her skin. She stroked the free running water with her finger tips before sucking in a deep breath and dropping her body down. Even underwater, he could see the back of her at this distance, as she stretched out and her arms came up to hold her hair. She shot out of the water and threw her wet hair back in the cool air. Her athletic body stood waist high and dripped with water. The adrenalin was delicious. And Edward was feeling something stir in his dead body too.

Edward felt he had better speak before she turned around and gave him a full frontal view.

"I'll fetch you a towel." His silky voice caught her by surprise. She looked over her shoulder at him playing cool. She would never allow him to see that he had the advantage. Leah nodded and looked back at the water and scrunched her face up to whisper 'shit' where he wouldn't see her face. Edward smirked as he physically heard her whisper over the running water and hearing her thoughts. He was in the house before she looked back.

He knew that they should talk about what he is or he should be cutting his losses. He knew that it was wrong to continue seeing her. There was so much wrong about their relationship. Including the fact that her ex-boyfriend was his mortal enemy and still cradled the lost relationship with this young woman somewhere in the depths of his heart. Edward knew that if he was a good man, he would end this. But he could admit to himself that he wasn't a good man. He was selfish and he wanted her even if he couldn't physically have her. He hoped that when the day came to let her go, he would have the decency to not put up a fight.

For now, he returned to the riverbank and held up a towel for her while turning his head away to provide her with some privacy. Her hot skin and soft human body was soon wrapped up in the towel in a luscious package.

He didn't know what he would do once she left too. So he enjoyed what he had today.

Sam had never thought himself a jealous man. But he couldn't account for how much it bothered him that Leah was with Edward. She chose a bloodsucker, for her next boyfriend after him! It was disconcerting to say the least.

The strongest opposition to the pairing was the instinctual need to protect a human from a leech. More than that, he wanted to protect a woman that he could now see he still loved. Not as strongly as he had before or possibly never could again. But he was sure that she shouldn't be with... it. He hoped it wasn't jealousy that was driving him to want to speak again with the Cullen's to call Leah off limits. He wasn't a jealous man. At least he didn't think so.

Maybe he was jealous. But Leah was playing with fire and he didn't believe for a second that she knew it. Paul disagreed. She had to notice how cold he was when she touched him. She had to notice how his skin didn't yield under the pressure of her lips.

Sam shuddered at thought of his Lee-Lee pressing her lips to a stone dead mouth.

There was the strong possibility that she was doing this to retaliate against him and the council. She knew that Sam and the council had a strong dislike for the Cullen's. That they were "cold ones." But with knowledge of the legends and now having a boyfriend who clearly met the descriptions from said legends... how could she still be with him? How could she not draw the connection? Or did she know but not care?

The whole thing was mind blowing; he couldn't wrap his brain around it. He looked down at Bella sitting beside him on the couch, her head nestled against his shoulder. She was driving him crazy. Always so careful. Not so much as a kiss in the weeks they had been spending time together. Her expressive brown eyes telling him what he most needed to know. She wasn't ready. Ready for what? To let nature takes its course. She was stubborn and still felt that he was only with her because he was little more than a slave. Yet in small ways, she grew accustomed to him. When she wasn't paying attention, he could slip in a kiss, a cuddle, small gestures. Only, she didn't return them. He was fortunate to have the contentment that came with her presence. Contentment reigning in his anxiety at having Leah in the grasp of a diabolical supernatural freak. He had pulled one girl out of the creatures clutches only to push another into in her place.

Was Bella right? Did the bloodsucker "dazzle" people? Was that how Bella and Leah been fallen in with Cullen? What should he do about Leah? He decided he should stop thinking about this. He had already organized a meeting with the council in the morning. Right now, it was time to hang out with the pack.

Jared had let his imprint, Kim, pick a movie and thus it had come to light that she was a huge fan of Brendan Fraser. Which would have been cool if that had meant they would be watching The Mummy. But she had picked Encino Man. Paul and Jared were game, but Sam and Bella smiled fraudulently.

Bella was thrilled when Paul and Jared had plowed through their third bucket of popcorn at record speed. "I'll make more popcorn!" She jumped up and dodged Sam trying to beat her to the empty bowl. She fought back the urge to stick her tongue out at him and in her hurry to the kitchen stumbled multiple times.

"Imprints can't be about making more co-ordinated little wolves." Paul smirked drolly in a hushed tone that only the wolves could hear.

Jared could see that Sam couldn't reach Paul from where he was but was sympathetic enough to kick Paul in the shin out of Kim's line of vision. Sam tried to cover a small smile hearing Paul's anguished and angry yelp before the wolf glared at Jared. Kim cowered back into Jared to his delight. He patted her knee. "Ignore the angry crazy dude. It's just his Tourette's kicking in."

Kim threw a suspicious look at Jared but nodded understandingly at Paul. That is until Paul growled at Jared without amusement and she somehow managed to tuck in ever closer to Jared. He shot a warning look at Paul and Sam sighed the sigh of a man long suffering under the boys left in his care.

When Bella returned from the kitchen with another bowl of popcorn, she had been expecting the same hand over fist grapple from Paul and Jared again. Instead she was met with scowls and Sam glaring warningly at the two wolves. Kim had huddled into a tiny ball overlapping Jared's side to such a degree that she was mostly in Jared's lap at this point. She stood behind the couch unsure for a moment before Sam gave her what was meant to be a reassuring smile and patted the seat beside him. Something had to have happened to cause this behaviour. But there were many strange behaviours from the boys that Bella had observed and not understood. Like the way they liked touch each other and her more than she was used to. She wasn't really big into the touching and hugging thing. But they seemed to need reassurance of each other's presence.

She shrugged and took up her place beside the Alpha. She smiled coyly at the boys as she handed the bucket of popcorn to Sam.

"It's good to be the king." Jared joked with a small hint of resentment as he watched the buttery tastiness just out of reach.

They sat quietly watching Branden Fraser's prehistoric man staring at eye level with a strange girl's breasts gleefully. The pack was content and happy for one night.

The council meeting didn't go as well as Sam or Harry would have hoped. The consensus from everyone else being that Leah was a big girl and had more information available to her than most humans. Were they going to take issue with every human the Cullen's took interest in? The Cullen's had done nothing to risk the treaty in the eighty years the treaty had been in place. It was time to draw the line at a girl who should know better.

An item that came onto the agenda that Sam hadn't expected was the second Clearwater child. Little thirteen year old Seth had experience accelerated growth and was unusually warm. The council suspected it was Leah's close contact with the Cullen's was rushing Seth into phasing early. Sam had been waiting for Jacob Black to grow the fuck up and take over his responsibility as true Alpha. Only he was unlucky enough to get a prepubescent child to take care of. More babysitting? He wasn't even supposed to be here. Where in the hell was Black? The happy little punk couldn't be more useless! All he had done was grow remotely faster than his classmates. But not so rapidly that it suggested he would phase soon or gain a temperature any warmer than the rest of the human population.

To brighten his day, he met Bella at her house and accompanied her on a grocery shopping trip. It was raining sheets, coming down in hard slants against the wind. If it hadn't been for the rain, he would have caught the scent sooner than the entrance. No sooner than he had caught the scent of Cullen, he met eyes with Leah.

Sam quickly looked at Bella to see if it wasn't too late to leave, but she had seen them too. She touched his lower back and urged him forward gently towards the shopping carts. Tight lipped grim faces met, hackles were raised and Leah raised her eyes to the ceiling as though there were an invisible hallowed being hiding in the rafters. Bella was tempted to tell her that God wasn't hiding in the rafters but decided that would be counter-intuitive to slipping by and ending this awkward moment quickly. So she kept her mouth firmly shut and did her best to avoid eye contact with Edward who had clearly had no difficulty finding a replacement for her. Her fears confirmed that he had moved on easily and that she hadn't in fact meant anything to him. She realized that nothing hurt more in love than realizing that you didn't mean anything to your ex.

"He's not good for you Lee-Lee." Sam spoke softly in passing. And if it didn't set Leah right off.

Her eyes flashed dangerously and her body began to vibrate. "You don't get to call me that! Get out of my way before I pop your arm off and shove it so far up your ass, your fist will knock your teeth out !" Her fists were clenched and the wild eyed young woman looked like she was going to explode. Her eyes were narrowed at Sam murderously, as though she were envisioning slow cruel deaths for him.

Bella looked to Sam. He saw what she saw. Edward saw what they saw. Only Leah didn't see what they saw. Leah saw red.

"Bella, stay here. I'll call one of the boys to come and get you." He whispered into her ear before yanking an arm around Leah in front of a disappointed looking Edward. Leah screeched venomously and let out a slew of filthy insults at her ex-boyfriend and then at Edward for doing nothing to rescue her. Customers stared in shock and mothers covered their children's ears. It was unlike anything most had ever heard before.

Edward and Bella stood facing each other awkwardly. But somehow, they both knew that the awkwardness of their moment just couldn't possibly be as awkward as what was happening outside right now. Leah joining the pack mind with her ex-boyfriend. Did it get any worse than that?

**AN: I always thought that sharing a mind with an ex and a bunch of horny boys would be like the worst, most awkward sex imaginable. Like smearing shit all over your bodies while screwing in front of your ex's parents. But I decided my interpretation was a bit vulgar and inappropriate in this story. I should have probably kept that tidbit to myself in future.**


	9. Warm Storms

**Disclaimer: At no point do I condone using nuclear weapons to off Twilight vampires. If it appears that way to you, well that's your own crisis of conscience so don't peg it on me. Just because it glitters doesn't make it a threat. You could have tried taking it home as a pet. I mean, I found these cute big supernatural wolves from SM and she had this screwed up world for them. So I made pets of them and I'm just fixing it up a little. So today's lesson is: Don't nuke vampires.**

**AN: Thank you to everyone that added me to their favourites and story alerts. And thank you to kathy hiester, Jeri252, PRPW, SiriBH, DragonBby, Seza3175 and justy13 for reviewing last chapter! **

**I took this chapter very seriously my first couple of runs at it. And then decided it wasn't working, too dark and not in keeping with previous chapters. So I listened to Sum41 loudly and pounded it out in a couple of days. *phew* Hope you enjoy it!**

Home was precious to Leah. Her father, mother and younger brother were here. La Push held her best memories. Memories of childhood birthday parties, scraped knees, climbing trees and first kisses. A place for her weary heart to rest. A home with mysterious and giant warrior trees that were the stuff of legends. Where the wind nourished her soul. But now it brought her more things. With this news her mind fought against the peace and well-being she had found in her surroundings.

Standing in the blazing body of a wolf in the shadow of three giant wolves, she learned that now her home was her prison. La Push was Leah's cherished hell. Trapped with horny boys picking through her innermost thoughts and memories. Her ex-boyfriend, Sam Uley having absolute access to her pain and private sanctuary. She wanted to be so far away from their minds right now! Could she run forever and not stop?

She recognize Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron raping her mind even as they tried to filter out her private thoughts. She had never felt so violated and vulnerable in her entire life. It was somehow made worst that they were actually trying to be respectful (Sam would have their hides if they weren't.) but were failing miserably.

As Sam attempted to explain everything to her from inside of her own mind, her most innermost private thoughts spewed out of her even as she tried to silence them. Jared struggled but was mostly successful as he reigned in his own thoughts. While Paul couldn't stop the floodgate of images he had caught from Sam's memories of Leah moaning, back arched, meeting thrust for thrust. The sensations of her soft, wet vaginal walls around his- Sam's memories were only confirmed with Leah's memories spewing forth of Sam grunting and sweating as he pounded into her. His hard-

_Leah!_ Sam cut in, as her own memories and the sensations rolled through the pack mind. It was awkward enough to have his memories as the canvas. The sensation of his own cock penetrating himself through Leah's memories was past his own comfort level. He realized the hypocrisy but he'd already had the knee-jerk reaction now.

_Paul, take Bella home._ And the embarrassing memories and their sensations quickly slid down to a more manageable level once he had phased out. Paul and Leah had been building off each other so quickly it was difficult to tell where one started and the other ended. Sam's wolf was tearing away in the back of his mind. Just like it had been since he snatched Leah from the grocery store. His wolf was desperate to go back. But Sam harnessed the wolf tightly and focused on the task at hand.

Leah still had random thoughts and memories dance despite her concerted efforts at having privacy.

_What was that?_ Jared and Sam reeled as the same memory rolled forward. Leah naked in a river and Cullen standing on the bank.

Leah's hackles rose and she snarled at them defensively. He had abandoned her. He had played her to date the Swan girl. He had no right to judge her for dating Cullen.

_Can't even think the word, can you?_ Sam sneered. _Vampire._

Leah launched herself at his throat. He had no right! Sam hadn't been expecting that from a new pup and jumped back and swung his head around to shake her loose. Jared bit into her ankle and she dropped down to the ground, spun around snapped at him in retaliation. Her rage made her feel powerful and indestructible. He had had her heart. He had had her body and now he had her mind. Maybe it was time he had her teeth closed down on her windpipe. None of her usual dark humour came forward. Her wolf thrashed and bit and scratched viciously at Sam and Jared.

_Leah stop!_ Sam commanded. He winced seeing her halt suddenly and her nose driven into the ground due it his Alpha order. He could feel the hurt and resentment flow from her. Her thoughts so chaotic and sprawling it was easier to ignore and give her some semblance of privacy. He took a space in front of her and lowered his wolf body to the ground.

_Let's get you back to human._ Panting she consented to this plan. She wanted him out of her head and he wanted to get out of her head. She was hurting.

_Take long deep breaths._ He focused his thoughts on the waves crashing on the shore. Rows of waves like soldiers lined up, pushing forward to land. He waited for her panting ease away and her thoughts to focus on the waves in his mind. _Now think about a human moment. Something that connects you with your human body. Imagine your human body. A human memory that made you feel connected to your body._

For a moment, she thought of sex with Sam. But she struck it down with anvil force. And so she went with the next memory that popped into her mind. Her first period. Jared and Sam tried not blanch, she was co-operating with them. It was a start. Leah remembered being aware of ruby red on toilet paper and a weight between her hips. The shape of her developing body changing. And then she was crouched down on the ground, naked and muddy. Her hair fell forward and her eyes peered up meeting Sam's.

The Alpha gave his pup a look of approval and Leah wanted to kick her wolf for preening at his attentions. The stupid bitch feared being left in the cold. Out of reach of her Alpha and pack. And she was as much the wolf as she was the young woman. The bitch was open and trusting and ready to embrace her Alpha and pack and leave her open for them to see. And the bitchy girl wanted to place her mind, heart and soul in a vault from everyone. Especially her ex-boyfriend. Her mind told her wolf no. Her mind told her heart no. Not now, not ever.

Jared and Sam phased in front of her and drew up shorts. Jared had thought to bring his largest t-shirt and passed it to Leah. She pulled it on over her head and stood resolutely with an American Eagle t-shirt hanging down to her lower thigh.

Sam had seen something in Leah's memories that he now gave himself permission to consider. Leah had knowingly placed herself in the line of danger around the Cullen's when she had been still human and vulnerable. Even knowing what he was. She had raced cars at insane speeds. He could see that he had a reckless and angry pup in his pack. He had his ex-girlfriend in his pack! He ran a hand over his head as they led Leah through the woods back to Harry's place. Preferring going through this conversation with her father present. He trusted Harry to keep his own daughter's best interests at heart.

Would the spirits protect a wolf so reckless?

Leah wanted to crumple in a ball and weep. But she wouldn't show him her weakness. Her strength would be her way of holding her middle finger up high at him.

* * *

><p>Edward and Bella stood indoors to the side of the entrance to the grocery store. She averted her eyes to the windows facing out to the parking lot. Time passed and people looked curiously at the silent young couple.<p>

"Let me drive you home." Edward reached for her.

Bella pulled away and watched the parking lot. "He'll be sending someone to get me."

"It's been five minutes. Let me drive you."

Bella glared at him in anger. Where did he get off treating her like a charity case? She turned her eyes back on the parking lot. More time passed to the sounds of the grocery store. Carts rattling, people murmuring and specials being announced.

"I didn't want to hurt you."

She heard his velvet voice stroke her from two feet away. Soothing and loving. But the affect on her wasn't loving or soothing. It hurt. She didn't react to his words.

"Sometimes I want to be more to you." He continued before suddenly stopping.

Bella didn't know what had happened at first. But then she caught sight of Paul outside. From the look on his face, she had a feeling he heard what Edward had said and he didn't like it. She glanced over at Edward before heading out the store ignoring the sound of his voice calling after her.

The rain had eased away and Paul hovered protectively on heels heading to Sam's truck.

"Why were you talking to it?" He grunted as he started up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I wasn't talking to him."

"He was talking then. You can tell him to fuck off next time. Sparkle Prick deserves it." Paul observed, keeping his eyes on the road.

Bella nodded her head, wide eyed but had no intentions of doing anything of the sort.

They were silent in the cab. The there was a sense of comfort here. The radio was off, as was Paul's habit. But somehow, Edward's words came back to her. A rock formed at the bottom of her stomach and she felt so pathetic and stupid.

"He got to you didn't he?" Paul grumbled.

Bella's eyes were forming tears and Paul pretended to disapprove of his moment of sensitivity. He waved her closer and she tucked in under his arm. He kissed the top of her head.

"I've got you. Sam love's you. We love you. Forget that motherfucker." He murmured softly in his deep voice. She felt the comfort of something she partially felt with Sam, but slightly different. What she felt would later be defined by them as the comfort of pack. She enjoyed the drive back to Sam's in Paul's embrace. Not a replacement for Sam, but a brotherly comfort.

He had been planning to drive her home, but seeing her upset, it seemed wrong to leave her alone.

The storm had grown and they witnessed the streetlight being knocked out as they reached the north end of the rez. The wolf brought his Alpha's Imprint into the house and set to finding candles and matches.

* * *

><p>When Sam was walking up to his house, he could hear Bella and Paul inside over the wind and rain whipping about. Jared was running patrol with Leah, hopefully bonding. As much as Leah tried<p>

"No!" Bella laughed. "It's not like that. I'll show toss again okay?" There was a brief pause. "I call heads!"

"How are you not cheating?" Paul grumbled like a disgruntled toddler. The young wolf confused that even with his heightened senses, he couldn't see how she was tricking him. There was a quiet connection between him and the Alpha's Imprint. He had always been instinctual and so when his wolf wanted to protect pack, protect an Imprint, he did so. When his wolf instinctually wanted to be close and bonded with his pack member, he didn't fight it. Much like he tended to yield to his temper and he yielded to his wolf easily seeing no reason not to.

"I haven't even lifted my hand yet."

Paul sighed. Sam heard the pause over the angry storm.

"It's heads!" Bella was clearly laughing at Paul. "Okay, sorry spoil sport. Don't look at me like that. Want to try another trick?"

Sam opened the door to see Paul and Bella sitting on the floor cross legged facing each other while Bella tossed a quarter in the air and caught it. Her scent washed over him and settled his wolf who had been taking fit all this time. The atmosphere was jovial and content. Paul and Bella were laughing and Sam felt a smile touch his face.

The power was still out, with a few candles lit around the living room and kitchen. It gave the space a warmth that matched the atmosphere. The harsh cold stood at the door and they were together and safe. Though the elements threatened to cross the threshold, their joy was strong. Sam decided the pack was filled with brothers and sisters and the stormy times they faced wouldn't overwhelm them if they were strong together. He might not be the rightful Alpha. He might not be strong enough to move mountains. But he only needed to be strong enough to unite his pack.

Paul gave Sam a short nod. Bella saw him and scrambled to her feet, running to Sam and launching herself into his arms like an enthusiastic child. He hadn't expected that and it was comforting after the last few hours in Leah's and Harry's presence. He felt like he had aged ten years dealing with the fallout from Leah. He also appreciated Paul making Bella happy while he was gone.

They hung out until midnight when Sam observed Bella's fatigue set in and decided that it was time to relieve Jared and Leah of patrol. Paul headed out while Sam set up the guest room.

Bella watched him make the bed, standing in the doorway. His love was kind and growing. His love was patient and enduring. His eyes were focused and determined. And Bella was aching to accept what her heart called mine. She wanted to touch him. All over his body. She wanted to rock against him and feel his hands in her hair. A small worry marred her thoughts. Thoughts of a forced connection. Of a man made little more than a slave to her. But her lust insisted that men liked sex. Would she be really be going against his free will to share his bed?

He could feel her blush across the room and caught the scent of arousal. He pondered if she found something arousing about him making her bed. Or was it the proximity of the bed? As much as he was tempted to see how far he could take her, he chose to keep his distance. She wasn't ready still. But he would be there when she was.

They shared an awkward parting, bidding goodnight. Sam lay in his bed in the next room with his alarm set for four am to take patrol from Paul. He listened closely for the sound of her heart beating and her soft breaths in the next room. He waited for his lover to accept him.

Thoughts of Leah rode the trail in the far corners of his mind. He shut those thoughts away. He would live with her rage and hurt enough in the coming weeks. It was strange enough to have his lover turn into a sister in his pack. He would have to show her patience and work hard to earn her trust again. The pack wasn't strong if they weren't together.

* * *

><p>A teenage boy felt a jarring, throbbing pain in his bones each night. It rose each night as his temperature rose. He sat up in bed running his hands over his legs taking deep calming breaths. The darkness called to him. Night after night, he felt a call to the woods. When the wolves howled his sight took in more of the world around him and his heart beat harder in his chest. He felt his body was breaking and he was too afraid to tell anyone around him.<p>

The storm outside sympathized with the ache inside. His body was finally matching the emotions he always felt. He was different and alone. Despite how close he felt with his friends, he knew how the tribe saw him. Set apart and different.

She said she didn't know who the man was. But she was a liar. His mother lied to him all the time. She knew who his father was. Why else would they be living amongst a different tribe? He could see it in her eyes. He knew she lied often and he had learned the tell tale signs. The way her eyes looked over his head and to the side and her fingers fiddled with whatever was at hand. The tightening of her voice. He knew her lies. Once, in a fit of rage he had demanded the truth and all he got was pain and guilt at the sight of his lying mothers tears. No answers. It was the first and last time he had yelled at his mother. She wasn't a large woman and her big brown eyes had stared up at him in terror. Afraid that her own teenage son was about to attack her. He couldn't frighten her like that again.

Many days, he had found himself looking around at the men on the rez, observing their eyes and facial structure. Looking for a hint. A clue. One of these men was his father. He could feel it in his gut and it twisted and bound him.

It shouldn't bother him. That's what he told himself. That it didn't really matter. The sperm donor clearly didn't give a fuck about him. The man never came forward and claimed him. This was the 21st century and things weren't so traditional anymore. Kids hadn't really been that bad about it. But it bothered him. What was it about him and his mother that his father had rejected? What set him apart from the other kids on the rez that they knew who their father's were, but his own was too embarrassed to make his presence known?

It felt as though he had failed before he had a chance to begin.

The wind blew against the 2 bedroom bungalow. The bucket in the hallway caught the dripping water from the leak in the attic. And water beat against his bedroom window. He sat alone in the shadows. In pain in his bed.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

**ANN: Holy sweet mother of Jesus who hasn't been born yet Christ! Why hasn't the girl screwed Sam yet? I wanted it. I really wanted it and she failed! No matter which way I wrote it, she was an epic fail! I'll keep soiling her mind okay?**

**If you liked the chapter, please review and let me know! Or you can tell me it was complete shit. I need to know that too.**


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